Poplar Magazine

The cool part about preparing for next issue is the sharing of past issues. Have a look at this beauty about photography and be sure to follow us today!

Photo Technical ~ Lit Location Portraiture by Evan Buchanan

I know the next issue is summer 26 but since it's snowing here in the Calgary region...I think it is fitting to share the winter '22 issue! haha.

Poplar Magazine Winter Issue 2022 Alberta's newest all digital lifestyle magazine is here for you including great columns and video content the melds art and advertising. Made for Alberta by Alb

Wow…seventeen issues! Can you believe that?

I know right?

If you’ve been with us the whole time, thank you! If you’re just arriving, welcome! I hope you like our magazine, be sure to hit our homepage and visit our archives where you can catch up with all we’ve been up to along the way.

The journey to seventeen has been a heck of a ride. In the biggening, we were an idea. Today, we’re an evolution. Growth, like the poplar tree itself, is a long and arduous process from seed to sapling and beyond. I’d say our roots are well endowed and it will be up to all of us here at Poplar to decide just how far this grows. In saying that, there is always room for something or someone new, so please drop us a DM and introduce yourself if you have any questions or contribution ideas!

Since our first issue, we’ve had a plethora of contributors make their way through our pages and once more, we have shifts in voices that we hope only continues to help expand our audience. The grassroots point of Poplar was to create a place for creatives who might not have the wherewithal or patience to be vetted for inclusion in traditional markets. I’ve always said, humans are creative and that applies to all, not just those who proclaim ownership of the title; everyone’s related to someone who decorated the walls of a cave.

In exciting news, I am continuing to work towards my business certification at Athabasca University while moving onward and upward in my effort to become a documentary storyteller as I study film making at Art of Documentary. Both are important to the grand plan of Finding Laughter which as of this writing, is in deep edit. I look forward to continuing to share this project as it goes full circle towards completion. Stay tuned and follow findinglaughter dot ca and on social media.

From my view, our growth as a collective here at Poplar has been curious when you consider that in recent issues, we’ve really laid on an organic approach. There has been very little push which belongs entirely to me. I own that decision and confess I’ve been at a loss of clarity on how exactly I want to move this project forward; I think deep down I am overthinking things while watching online trends in social media behavior. How does a digital magazine fit in with AI and short form video that aims to stimulate on a five second cycle? More to come here.

We have tried a lot, including support for arts which I admit, is getting long in the tooth for me when you consider how little arts reciprocates. Let’s be honest, this is the plague of our industry. People in creative industries seem to struggle to return the favour. And if you’re not vetted into the circle, you can forget entirely about being supported regardless of how much of yourself you put into others. Art is broke. It only has a small token of resources that create an insular behavior that does nothing but exclude and moderate who really gets to eat at the trough. This is what happens when people who have the skillset to create become the gatekeepers of what is seen. It’s bad. It’s really, really bad and I don’t appreciate it especially when there is no real need for this. Everyone has the ability today to create “their” work for the world. You don’t need a grant, you don’t need approval. You need you. Believe in yourself and get your work to the table because dollars to donuts, you’re good enough and all the approval processes in the world won’t make you a better artist. Showing your work to the world will.

Thank you for reading Poplar Magazine. Please like, follow and share us as far as your circle can see.

Tim Lowing

Editor's Letter Wow…seventeen issues! Can you believe that?

The second excerpt from Finding Laughter. Book is through first read and is now heading for a second edit. My life, my testimony.

Montreal: Summer. 1999.

Upon arrival at the festival, I soon learned that I didn’t have any representation. My western agent barely spoke to me due to me attaining the invite on my own. Because she didn’t broker the appearance, she distanced herself from me which made things awkward immediately. Compounding that was the selection process for the shows line up. I drew the bullet and went first.

There is a lot of ways to view going first on a showcase show. Some people completely dread it, while I took it as an opportunity to set the pace. My intention was to do just that.

The show was held at The Comedy Nest. The very stage I did my first headline spot on a year prior. I was full of anticipation and nerves. Not always the best recipe. The host was a local Montreal comic who prided himself as a professional MC, he’d had a lot of big moments and for all intents and purposes, the show should have been in perfect hands. However, our host had other ideas. The Nest had this hallway/ runway type corridor that led to the stage and I was standing there with another Montreal comic, Joey. We were having an awesome exchange – he was being incredibly supportive. He understood my pressure as the first guy out and just then, the host goes after this table. And I don’t mean lightly. They were having a birthday or something and this guy just explodes on them. Calling them names, attacking them for speaking. Goes on a rant about how this evening could make or break a career! I kid you not, it’s insane. Joey looks at me in utter disbelief; he apologizes for us both and just then I am brought on stage with no separation from full scale meltdown to, “your first comic”!

Read the rest in the link below.

Finding Laughter - by Tim Lowing Finding Laughter is currenty in edit and this is a rough cut from it’s pages...