The Scream began back in the early 1980’s as an idea to publish in print the very thing that the current e-journal is now doing. Editor/publisher Stuart Vail knew a lot of artistic and literary talent that needed (was screaming for) a venue, yet after all was said and done—and reality hit— the cost and time to produce such a venture proved too daunting. At the time, he had too much on his plate and the “grand idea” was limited to only a few prototype copies. One of the items it contained was a call for submissions inspired by Edvard Munch’s “The Scream,” a painting that rather sums-up the horrors of seeking legitimate representation—not to mention getting published—as an artist or writer.
The Internet made Stuart's dream come true beyond his wildest dreams. The debut issue went online in June 2001 and—after only four issues—is a great success, with an impressive audience spanning the globe. Appearing quarterly, each issue offers a variety of thought-provoking articles, poetry, short stories, essays, artwork, photography, irreverent humor, and off-the-wall items from off the beaten path. The editorials provide an opportunity for The ScreamOnline to pick on anything and everyone from loggers, politicians, three-year-olds, slackers, composers, and western civilization to gardeners, the wealthy, young lovers, cigars, bigotry, Russians, those who can’t express themselves, and those who “like, can’t talk right.”
Though not a full-fledged poet himself, Mr. Vail has always had a soft spot in his heart for the written word in all forms. He loves the works of Rilke and Borges, and comments that he reads the latter in Spanish, because there is no substitute—no matter how good the translation—for the language of origin, and for that reason wishes that he understood German to fully appreciate the former. Poetry features in TheScreamOnline include:
• Ellen Watson, head of the Poetry Dept. at Smith College.
• John Guzlowski’s holocaust poetry, “Language of Mules.”
• Louis Bruser's “Inconsequentia from the Fourth Dementia.”
• And works by Sufeir Hammad, Peter Clothier, Bette Casteel, Charles Fishman, Ryan Skinnell, Alan Porter, John Kilgore, Helen Degen Cohen, Wendy Hall, and Mike Rychlewski.
Nonfiction & fiction features:
• “Why Teachers Can't Read Poetry ” by John Kilgore.
• “The Evasion-English Dictionary” by Maggie Balistreri.
• “Make it Green” by Roger Ebert.
• “Let Slip the Dogs of Metaphor” by John Kilgore.
• “The Edge of the Field” by Helen Degen Cohen.
• “Silence” by Danusha Goska.
• “On Not Being Rich and Famous” by Peter Clothier.
• “Return to Warsaw” by Helen Degen Cohen.
• “Artists and the Rest of the World” by Stuart Vail.
• And, Russia’s Chelyabinsk-40, the secret underground city whose sole purpose for years was to process plutonium.Photography features :
• John Isaac: former chief photographer for the U.N.
• William Mortensen: Galleries and original pigment process notes.
• Robert Balcomb: Mortensen protégé and fine portrait photographer.
• Gary Auerbach: Images of the SW in large-format platinum/palladium prints.
• Women In Photography International: 20th Anniversary Exhibit.
• Alex H. Hamilton: British countryside photography circa 1940-1950.
• Joanne Warfield: Polaroid alternative processes.
• Al Stewart, trumpeter for Benny Goodman: “View from the Bandstand.”Art features:
• Harry Carmean, painter.
• Danny Kaplan, TV director/painter.
• Estelle Bedard Prigmore, sculptor.
• Shanye Huang, painter.
• Ken Brown, digital artist.
• Sam Balcomb, film director/artist.
• Max Turner, sculptor.Additional articles include help in managing your browser’s cache and all you ever wanted to know about monitor resolution. All issues and articles remain online for the life of the magazine and can be accessed through the Past Issues Archives button at the top of each contents page. The magazine also has a Links page in which this site is listed. It turns out that The Drunken Boat has long been a poetry favorite of TheScreamOnline.
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