Thieves Jargon Interview
Best Jargon on The Net
by Steph Henck
An Interview with Matt DiGangi
Editor Matt DiGangi has experienced the joys of shared housing, done his time in an office job, and driven along the western rim of the US, from San Diego to Seattle. Born from the simple yet noble desire to get more good writers out there in the public’s eye, he’s also managed to initiate and continues to spearhead a quirky online journal, Thieves Jargon (TJ).
SH: Before we get onto the subject of how quickly your issues turn over (once a week) tell me a little bit about your background and how you came to Thieves Jargon. Also, I’m curious to know what your goals were when first coming to TJ and what were some of the most important things you knew you wanted to accomplish with the site?
MD: I have a college degree in English, which did little except push me a little bit further to the front of the line at OfficeTeam. That led to a cubicle job that almost did me in. I won some money on a scratch ticket, quit my job, packed up my car and hit the road, eventually ending up in LA, trying to get work writing for television. I lived in this weird house full of refugees from all over the country. Between throwing couches off the roof and setting old clothes on fire in the driveway, I needed something to fill up the time. Thieves Jargon was born as a reaction to a lot of the frustration I was feeling toward the editors I had been sending my own writing out to. The goal of the Jargon was to do what those guys were doing, only do it better. For instance, publishing quarterly doesn’t make too much sense to me for an online journal. I can understand it for the print rags, where there are layout, printing, and financial hassles to deal with. But for an online journal, where the expenses and setup time are minimal, why would you take so long? I figured who would want to wait for their favorite quarterly to update, when they could get something new each week? That alone separated us from almost all of the other journals right away. We’re about a year and a half in right now, so we’ve got at least a little bit of a track record of success. I also put in a message board to try to build a sense of community. I want Thieves Jargon to be a place that readers might actually want to come to, not just writers looking for a place to submit their work. Add to that the fact that I try to personally respond to all submissions I receive (another thing that few other journals bother to do), and you get with Thieves Jargon what I feel is a very writer and reader friendly journal. The response has been tremendous, and we continue to get new readers all the time. It seems the writers are buying into it as well. We put up a new issue every Friday, and I’m still forced to turn away a lot of quality writing. Doing that doesn’t make me feel good, but it lets me know that we’re doing something right.
SH: You have obviously had tremendous success with your more readily revolving issues. It is obvious that this alone sets Thieves Jargon apart from other online journals. It also means that you’re archives grow much faster and that you’re bringing a lot more work out onto the web. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having such a huge body or work move through the site?
MD: The advantage is that I get to publish a lot of authors that might otherwise fall through the cracks. I take a lot of pride in being able to publish people who haven’t had their work accepted anywhere yet, and it’s usually a thrill for them to be published alongside some more established authors. Also, I’ve found that since I publish frequently, the fan base has grown rapidly. [That] gave me some solid footing for when it was time to release our first print offering. The biggest disadvantage is that a lot of writers who are used to having their work displayed on a web site for three months or maybe a month only get to see a week of front-page face time on Thieves Jargon, which is why I’ve kept everything archived. It’s easy to dig back and see if an author has been previously published in Thieves Jargon, so much of the prior work is easily accessible. The extensive archive also gives a lot of Jargon newcomers a chance to dig back into our history and see how we’ve evolved.
SH: Since first-time authors are published alongside more established authors, what are your criteria for submission? I noticed the description of some of your favorite authors, but what do you look for in a potential TJ piece? Also, are there other people involved in the transfer and movement of information through the site (as readers, editors, etc.)?
MD: I have some co-editors who are past Thieves Jargon authors, people who I respect a lot and who help me make some of the tough decisions. Ultimately, I get to do all the correspondence, but I also get to choose all of what goes into each issue. As the arbiter of taste, the kind of stuff I look for is something that I’ll be excited to show to other people. I like interesting stories. Sometimes I like a good defeat, sometimes something where the long shot wins, people getting by with whatever they got. I like to get curveballs, I like a good punch line, I like things weird. I like a good voice, I like an authentic voice, I like something that feels like it’s talking to me. I feel like we’re really kind of all over the board. We’ve run a bunch of Elvis stories. Obviously, I like both, a lot, but all things being equal, I prefer the story to the actual writing.
SH: If you could draw out the future for Thieves Jargon in pen (not pencil, as in it’s not up for debate), what would TJ’s future look like? What would your role be?
MD: Ideally, I want to continue doing weekly issues of Thieves Jargon and pump up the Thieves Jargon Press output to a quarterly schedule. I want to stay involved with the writers and their work, but I wouldn’t mind bringing on a staff to help out with publicity, marketing, design and layout. Also, lawyers and envelope stuffers. In the future I hope to see the Thieves Jargon brand expand into video games, tavern and bookstore ownership, and weekly syndicated stories in alternative newspapers.
SH: I’d like to get back to the TJ submissions for just a moment. Right now there is primarily fiction posted, with some poetry and one weekly column. Is this the ideal mix for you or would you like to see nonfiction, essays, chapbooks or any other genre? Do you see TJ primarily as a vehicle for fiction or is the content driven more by what kind of submissions you receive given the weekly turnover?
MD: I like the mix we have on TJ right now; it’s pretty much a reflection of what I receive. When I started the Jargon, I was on a big Hunter S. Thompson jag, and I was hoping to get some journalistic freelance type writing, but we never got too much in the way of submissions for that. We’ve run some online chapbooks that went over really well, so I’m open to doing that again. I’m like nonfiction as well, but it doesn’t seem like people are really writing a lot of it these days (or at least owning up to it).
SH: Would you consider being a contributor to TJ or do you like to keep your TJ work and your own writing separate? You mention on your site some of the authors whose styles and work you enjoy, but are there other non-literary well-knowns or personal role models and/or mentors that you feel have an impact on the work you do today?
MD: When the Jargon first started, I put a few of my stories up just to keep the issues full, but I used a pseudonym, and haven’t messed around with self-publishing since then. There are plenty of writers more talented than me out there who deserve to be run, and I’m of the opinion that if I can’t get my work accepted someplace else, then it’s probably not that great to begin with. It’s more fun submitting to other journals though, seeing how they react, if they react, what kind of timeframe they go on, how they roll with feedback, et cetera. But I don’t like to submit using my own name because a lot of those guys know who I am, and I’d rather my work get accepted on its own merit, not because some other editor wants to get on my good side. I’ve been influenced by some songwriters just as far as how to tell a drunk/crazy story. I learned how to hustle from a tv producer I was working with when I lived out in Hollywood, he’d probably be my biggest influence as far as business savvy goes. My fellow editors and publishers are always keeping me on my toes… the good ones set the bar, and the lousy ones I badly want to blow out of the water. If I could be ten percent as hard working as Henry Rollins, I’d be off to a good start. There’s this hip-hopper named Aesop Rock, who put out an album called “Labor Days”. It’s all about working crappy jobs all the while having artistic aspirations. “I wanna be something beautiful the day the sun runs out of batteries” is a line that has served me well.
SH: We’ve talked a little bit about what you see (or would like to see) in the future for TJ, but what are some of your personal goals for the future? Obviously you are very involved in the evolution of TJ as its editor, designer, etc. but do you see yourself moving away from TJ at any point and pursuing some more individual goals?
MD: It’s funny, because with the Jargon I’ve finally found something I can disappear into for 10 hours at a time without realizing it. Now the trick is finding a way to keep it going. I tell myself that someday I’ll quit the Jargon and get back into the writing game, because I feel like I’ve been learning so much from all the great writers I’ve been in contact with over the past few years. I’d be interested to see how it would apply to my own writing. Otherwise, if the Jargon craps out, I’d like to stay in the publishing game, but I’m not so much a fan of NYC, so we’ll have to see how it all shakes out.
SH: Before we wrap up the ‘interview’ I’d like to just ask you a few questions that might help our readers get to know a little bit more about you outside the context of editor for Thieves Jargon. What is your favorite book/movie?
MD: Favorite book is Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson. It’s about a drifter junkie, and it’s one of the most hypnotic pieces of art I’ve encountered. It was actually adapted into a pretty decent movie, but my favorite flick is Ghostbusters. Bill Murray at his funniest, Harold Ramis the perfect straight man, Dan Ackroyd just on the verge of losing it.
SH: If you could go back to school and study one thing, what would it be?
MD: Creative writing? I dunno. I’d rather have the money for traveling, I’d probably learn twice as much. I think experience outweighs education when it comes to artistic pursuits.
SH: And, lastly, other than Thieves Jargon of course, what are some of the online web journals you like to visit?
MD: Zygote in My Coffee is top notch for poetry and lunacy and constant new content. Laura Hird’s web site was really great to me as I was getting started. 99 Burning is new, but they look like they have some good potential. Cherry Bleeds seems to be thinking along the same lines as the same lines as Thieves Jargon.
About the Interviewer
Stephanie Henck is a review editor for Portal Del Sol. She can be reached at Shmellor@aol.com
