Poetry Connection | Summer in New Orleans and Fiesta with Christopher Buckley
A Visit to the Maple Leaf Bar for the Everette Maddox Poetry Series
I’m on vacation in New Orleans. While it seems crazy to spend the summer in the South, land-locked, during one of the hottest heat waves on record, the truth is New Orleans is prepared for the heat. There is freezing air-conditioning at most places, making all indoor places comfortable, if not chilly. It was so cold at the movie theater where I saw Oppenheimer that I worried I would get a COVID rebound from the chill, not to mention that the movie itself leaves one cold. I noticed a woman leaving the theater who carried a thick, fuzzy blanket. I made a note to myself never to go to a movie theater here in a sleeveless dress.
One place I was grateful for cold air was the Maple Leaf Bar, where I was the featured reader at the Everette Maddox Poetry Series. The Maple Leaf Bar hosts the longest continuously running poetry series in North America. The series started in 1979 and gained popularity around the same time that James Booker, the one-eyed piano virtuoso, frequently played there. Everette Maddox, a well-loved poet, popularized the series until his early death in 1989. It is rumored he lived at the bar and wrote his poetry on bar napkins. The Maple Leaf’s owner, Hank Staples, collected the poems in a paper sack. Most of Everette’s work was published posthumously, and since his passing, Nancy Harris has been running the weekly series that includes a popular open mic.
The Maple Leaf Bar has survived numerous storms, including Hurricane Katrina. I think the pandemic took a bigger toll on the poetry series and bar than Hurricane Katrina. The back patio, where the weekly readings happen, underwent a remodel and complete transformation. Gone are the trees that pointed skyward and provided much-needed shade during the searing summer months. During the pandemic, many poetry readings took place via Zoom. Some series like the Latter Library’s monthly Poetry Buffet in New Orleans, still maintain a part-time Zoom presence. Many of the regulars have gone on to start poetry series of their own.
