“Harry Potter Writes Crappy Poems Under Jewish Pen Name”

Four poems written by Danielle Radcliffe when he was 17 were published under the pen name “Jacob Gershon” in Rubbish magazine.  The poems are about infidelity, Pop Idol, affairs with prostitutes and junkie rock star Pete Doherty.

from Rubbish magazine’s blog:

Rubbish is excited to let you in on a very poetic and top secret secret we have been keeping in the muggle world. Last week a certain young actor, whose wizard roles have bewitched the public since 2001, revealed himself as none other than RUBBISH’s very own dynamic young poet, Jacob Gershon.

We are immensely proud to reveal that RUBBISH Magazine has indeed published the debut works of the talented young poet Jacob Gershon, who just so happens to be the pen name for Daniel Radcliffe.

RUBBISH celebrates creativity in all its weird and wonderful forms and this includes poetry and the written word. So when Jenny Dyson, Editor and Creative Director of RUBBISH Magazine, discovered the secret passion Dan held for poetry she selected four works for publication.

Dan’s one request was that his identity be kept secret, hence the birth of Jacob Gershon. This pen name originates from Jacob, which is Dan’s middle name and Gershon, the Jewish version of Gresham, his mother’s anglicised maiden name. The idea of publishing four works for their own merit appealed to Rubbish greatly, especially as each of Dan’s poems hold unique charm and demonstrate an exemplary grasp on metre and rhyme.

“The transitory years between childhood and adulthood hold a special type of awareness for a seventeen year old poet. The sensibility of that particular age in a writer or artist shares equal measures of knowingness and innocence unique to the teenage years. Dan’s conjure up the zeitgeist, touching on celebrity, fame and relationships in a knowing, playful way. Poetry has the ability to vividly evoke the essence of the era it is born into. Jacob Gershon’s poetry will capture this time for future generations.”

– Jenny Dyson A.K.A. Mrs Rubbish.

‘I don’t think I’d have the stamina, skill or ability to write a novel, but I’d love to write short stories and poetry, because those are my two passions. There is an art to a short story. . . I love Raymond Carver, and Chekhov  –  without making myself sound more highbrow than I am! When I don’t write in form and metre, I become unbearably self-indulgent. It’s what Robert Frost said: free verse is like playing tennis with the net down.’

-Danielle Radcliffe tells the Daily Mail

-quote from Heeb magazine