Dear Readers,
Traditional books have only one entry point. Websites, on the other hand, present countless portals. From links scattered across the web, readers are transported into the heart of a story when they visit Monologging. Founded in 2011 and concluded in January 2025, for over a decade the “local-global collaborative magazine” evolved, offering a borderless realm for artistic experimentation and collaboration…
The project originated in my novel, All the Lonely Boys in New York. The speaking game, “Big Echo,” later called, “Monologue,” helps the veteran soldiers portrayed in the book employ free speech to overcome PTSD-related inhibitions. Focused on capturing artistic processes, the archived themed and threaded content that we produced between the spring of ’17 and the winter of ’24 showcases an incredible linking of imaginations. Utilizing what we came to call “the Monologging method,” contributors from around the world adapted speaking games to devise interactive models for intensive, two-way, creative communication; producing a wealth of content. Published annually, there evolved a memoir component that complemented the multimedia we created. Each consecutive issue opens salon, indulging risk. Collectively, visually and audibly, contributors reflect on consequential events bookending no small epoch. Across the years I’ve heard it said by several of our most committed community members, something “spiritual” happened here.
In the final days of our collaboration, leadership explored the notion of “continuity” to feature as the Winter ’25 theme. This issue never materialized, but not to my regret. I’ve realized it’s time to wind down. Fostering and hosting long-distance collaborations is no longer sustainable at this domain. The internet is changing rapidly and a paradigm shift is underway. The very concept of a website, let alone a curated publication may very well be obsolete. Thanks to social media there has been a profound liberation of speech. With writers and artists suddenly empowered to stand alone and defy gatekeepers, there appears New Babel. Ideas contend with the darkest obscurity and yet true talent always shines through. That’s why I marvel at our journey and the creative concepts we have proven. As I’ve cast net, I’ve gained appreciation for the emotional intensity with which diverse perspectives vie when free thought thrives.
There’s eternal intrigue connecting the dots of all experience, but ultimately, expression bearing lasting influence must come bound or framed. The highest artistic works to which individual creatives aspire assert a soul divine and therefore deserve better than online. The difference between experimentation and a completed vision is that both the work and its author will stand alone without curation, process is hidden, and the chosen medium for publication abides. The “Local-Global Collaborative Magazine” that I envisioned so many years ago was an inherently tangential experiment, open and participatory. This platform could have become anything, and for that reason, will forever form-defy. An incredible debt is owed to everyone who participated in shaping the venture. May “Continuity” be our lasting inquiry. Will the multimedia concepts and collaborative principles we’ve embraced continue to inspire, even when our publishing vehicle no longer provides? To the extent that I can keep these pages for posterity, let me submit this tribute to the beautiful ideal of a supportive artistic community.