Hickory – Somewhere in Mitchell County, a half mile above sea-level, just off the North Toe River, between Bakersville, Burnsville, and Spruce Pine, in the shadows of Mt. Mitchell and Roan Mountain and a few other smaller mountains sits the tiny community of Bandana, NC. But good things often come from small places. Such is the case for NC poet and retired Appalachian State professor, Hilda Downer, who crossed a few mountains in her lifetime to land where she currently lives and writes in Sugar Grove.
Hilda Downer
Downer will be the featured reader at the 194th Poetry Hickory to be held at Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse in downtown Hickory on May 9. Downer’s reading will begin at 6:30 and be followed by an Open Mic.
Downer is the author of four collections of poetry: “Bandana Creek, “Sky Under the Roof,” “When Light Waits for Us,” and “Wiley’s Last Resort,” published last year by Hickory’s own Redhawk Press.
In addition to teaching and writing poetry, Downer has been a psychiatric nurse for 40 years, and she works as a volunteer with grades K-8 students and seniors to encourage the creation of art and poetry projects.
For more information on Poetry Hickory or to register for the Open Mic, contact Scott Owens at 828-234-4266 or asowens1@yahoo.com
