Popshot Q+A

From the moment Jacob Denno first emailed me to tell me about his poetry magazine, I was intrigued. I’ve perceived poetry for a long time as a rather exclusive artform, generally gripped tight by its writers and devotees, and I don’t think I’ve been alone in that mindset. Denno noticed this perception, and he has been on a mission with Popshot to set it right. In coming up with new ways to present poetry, like pairing each poem with a custom illustration, he hopes that Popshot might lend a hand in reopening the doors of poetry to young people who may not have been interested in the medium otherwise. Read on for an interview with the man behind the magazine as well as an image gallery following.

Hey Jacob, care to introduce yourself?
Certainly sir. My name is Jacob Denno and I found and edit the monstrosity that is Popshot.

What were the origins of Popshot? Why did you decide to start it?
It was born out of confusion, really. I didn’t quite understand how poetry had managed to maintain its musty image whilst all around it every other art form had effortlessly pulled itself into the 21^st century. So I thought it was about time that changed and wanted to create a magazine that could make people view poetry in a different light, far away from the much resented school anthologies.

Why is poetry important?
Because when written well, it can iterate a thought or an idea or an experience with far more depth and clarity than if you were to try and say it in ‘normal’ conversation. Because every word is weighed up and thought about and because it is the greatest celebration of our language that there is.

The magazine seems to be a pretty selfless effort in a few regards…
I think there’s a mixture of reasons for that. The main one being to support poetry as a whole and try to make people view it differently. I would imagine most people’s perceptions of poetry is that it’s a pretty closed off affair and I wanted to make Popshot as approachable as possible. So many poetry magazines like to remind you how many submissions they get, how busy they are and that it’s very possible they won’t reply to you. In the end it can make your little submission feel fairly pointless. As a result, I wanted Popshot to be as supportive as possible not only to the individual poets but also to the people who were reading poetry for the first time and wondering what on earth it was all about.

How do you choose your poets? Are most of them local?
Before every issue we do a call for submissions on a theme and the final poems featured in Popshot are the best 24 poems that we receive. I like the idea that some kid writing his very first poem has as much chance of getting published as Sylvia Plath would if she rose from the dead and emailed us a poem. As a result, the poets are from all over the world.

The poems in the magazine all end with a short description of what the poem was about. Many poets prefer that the interpretation be up to the reader. Can you explain this decision?
It was a case of context. The description was to help make the poems more accessible to those coming to poetry for the first time. Also, in my opinion, it can add another dimension to the poem that you wouldn’t have had otherwise. For example, one of the poems in Issue 3 is called ‘Darshan with Dalai Lama’ and talks about a variety of ways that the poet is going to kill the Dalai Lama. It’s possible that without the description people could take this literally and miss the point that it’s a reference to the old Zen koan ‘If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him’.

Why did you want to accompany each poem with a visual artist’s interpretation?
Theres something about combining a poem and an illustration that brings new dimensions out of both forms. The poem has a stronger sense of context with the illustration and the illustration has a story behind it with the poem. They both combine to support the other which I hope in turn makes the whole thing easier to relate to as the person reading it.

What happens if you end up not particularly liking/agreeing with the pairing of a certain poem with a certain piece of art?
I see that as part of the process now. Once the poem is sent off to the illustrator, I try to stay out of it. It allows the illustrators a lot more freedom and I think good things can come from that. So long as I like most of the illustrators work then it usually works out tremendously. Every once in a while there are exceptions though…

What does the future hold for Popshot?
Bigger print runs, distribution in every country and a phenomenal amount of whiskey.

To wrap things up, what’s your favorite poem/stanza/line of all time?
Tough question. I would probably go for ‘Algy met a bear, a bear met Algy, the bear was bulgy, the bulge was Algy.’ Absolute genius.

Thanks for your time, Jacob!
Thank you!

To order a copy of Popshot Magazine, please visit their website.
All Popshot submissions should be directed by email to:
submit@​popshotpopshot.​com