I hope it's not over, and good-by.: Selected Poems of Everett Maddox

by Everette Maddox

Ralph Adamo's selection from Maddox's four books provides an accessible introduction to readers new to the work, but in its novel organization it also suggests new and surprising readings for those who know the work, or thought they did.

Genres: Poetry

159 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 16, 2009

Reviews

[Dave Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love literature that stretches our boundaries, not just with form, especially not with form, but with content, which inspires new and interesting shapes. Everette Maddox is what critics used to refer to as an outsider writer. The speaker in these poems simply doesn't exist in the world most of us recognize and struggle with--he floats through it on a sea of booze, not unlike a modern Li Po. I don't think I've ever read a book where the speaker in the poems goes to sleep in bars so many times. These are poems eternally chasing a good time--whether it be art or booze or love or friendship--in the same way that Frank O'Hara did in his best poems, but there is an oddballness to the imagery reminiscent of Richard Brautigan. There's a sadness here that feels like joy, and the joy is filled with a little sadness. I'll read this again someday, maybe in a bar, maybe in a church.

[Michael Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the 70s and 80s when I was a regular denizen of the Maple Leaf bar I often saw Everette there. It was the time of the Ivory Emperor, James Booker, on piano (still the best piano player I have ever seen), the Andrew Hall Society Jazz Band every Saturday, chess games up front by the window and washing clothes in the back laundromat. I'm sure that over the years I spoke with Everette though I can recall no specifics. I recall him smoking a pipe or scribbling in his notebook, usually intoxicated, as most of us ended up in those days. He may have read me a line of verse or two as he was wont to do with folks. This collection starts off slow for me, but it builds nicely. I found myself smiling as I read many. He is a kinder, gentler, Bukowski but with just as sharp an eye for the foibles and illusions of humans and the make believe lives we create but especially as it relates to his own life. Like Booker he died young. Like Booker he was often homeless. I always think of those two together and made reference to both in my second book, A Second Chance at Dancing. His poetry lives on and as a result so does he.

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had never heard of him before this book crossed my desk at my bookstore. I think this is the best new poet I've discovered since Frank O'Hara. Alas, though, he did not live long, and this is his only book in print.

[Mj · Rating 5 out of 5]

When traveling, I love to go to the "local" section of an independent bookstore and pick something up to read. Usually this is a book of poetry that catches my eye, and during my time in New Orleans, Everette Maddox's selected book of poetry, [I hope it's not over, and good-by], was my pick.

Reading good poetry is like taking sips of delicious, scalding coffee: if you try to read it all in one sitting, you will burn yourself and hate it. But taking a sip here and there lets you savor the flavors and appreciate the aroma of the words. Maddox is a beautiful poet. I have been snapping pictures of poems that really hit me and sending them to my friends and fellow writers because they have been inspiring me.

If you have a passing interest in poetry, pick this book up. It's going to have an honored place on my bookshelf.

[Mark Folse · Rating 5 out of 5]

He was a mess.

I never met Everett Maddox. in this heyday my first wife and I were drinking ourselves into oblivion at Betz Brown's Abbey like our ship had just sailed in from the South Pacific. Later I discovered his porns and fell in love. His language is direct and clear language captured comedy and tragedy and told stories like no one else I've read. It is incredibly lyrical in it's simplicity, the work of a man with an ear for poetry in the latter half of the 20th Century, a last lyrical hurrah before post post Modernism began deconstructing the po-boy. New Orleans stole his heart and he gave the city his soul. If you can't be on the next plane to New Orleans this book is the next best thing and the tonic for what makes you want to up and run away to New Orleans.

[kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maddox is quickly becoming one of my new favorites and has a place in my heart, he is warm and quirky, delightful, antagonizing and brutal, but most of all, he seizes your soul and won't let go with his tenderness. i wish i had known him when he was alive. i have visited The Maple Leaf Bar where he held so many poetry readings, but next time i go, i will look for a trace of him.

[Allen Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps the definitive collection of works from a poet whose flame burned brightly if all too briefly like so many before.

This collection demonstrates what made Maddox great and why his work should be listed among the Southern canon.

A beautiful collection lovingly compiled by friends and colleagues that draws from Maddox’s complete body of work. While there are some notable omissions, this book is the ideal introduction for new readers and a must have for existing fans.

Read Everette Maddox and you will the poem speaking to you, wanting to love you.