Po Monkey’s: Portrait of a Juke Joint

Barnard Observatory, Tupelo Room

Outside of Merigold, Mississippi, off an unmarked dirt road, stands Po’ Monkey’s, perhaps the most famous house in Mississippi and the last rural juke joint in the state, now closed to the public. Before the death of the lounge’s owner, Willie Seaberry in 2016, it was a mandatory stop on the constant blues pilgrimage that flows through the Delta. Seaberry ran Po’ Monkey’s Lounge for more than fifty years, opening his juke joint in the 1960s. A hand-built tenant home located on the plantation where Seaberry worked, Po’ Monkey’s was a place to listen to music and drink beer—a place to relax where everyone was welcomed by Seaberry’s infectious charm. In his new book, Po’ Monkey’s: Portrait of a Juke Joint, photographer Will Jacks captures the juke joint he spent a decade patronizing. The more than seventy black-and-white photographs featured in this volume reflect ten years of weekly visits to the lounge as a regular—a journal of Jacks’ encounters with other customers, tourists, and Willie Seaberry himself. Some of the photographs featured in the book are on exhibit in the Gammill Gallery (Jan 21–Feb 28). Will Jacks is an alum of the University of Mississippi with a degree in Southern Studies. He is a photographer, curator, storyteller and educator of culture and relationships in the Mississippi Delta, the Mississippi River region, and the American South.