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Editor’s Foreword

Welcome to Volume 1 of Laconics. Essays accepted for publication throughout the year will be added to the above table of contents. I think you'll find our essays provocative and entertaining.

I'm sure many of you realize that "Laconics" is the name of the column in the New London Telegraph where some of O'Neill's poetry first appeared. However, the name of our new online journal is more than just an homage to young Gene's abortive attempts at verse. The word "laconic" can be defined as both concise and pithy. While contributions to Laconics will not be limited as to length, we welcome shorter, more concise papers, such as those presented at conferences. These articles are currently less acceptable for publication in The Eugene O'Neill Review, which favors long essays of 25-30 pages. We also welcome the more pithy, controversial papers which are sometimes shunned by academics.

Laconics solicits essays from authors who have something to say about O'Neill, his work, and the theatre, and who have a desire to share their thoughts with others. Laconics also solicits essays from authors who want to share their thoughts with a much wider and larger audience than exists for print journals such as The Eugene O'Neill Review. There were almost 180,000 visitors to eOneill.com this past March—a potential audience significantly greater than the circulation of the average academic journal. Publication in Laconics will not get one reimbursed for travel to their favorite meeting destination, and it may not put a notch in one's academic belt. However, publication in Laconics will allow one to share their ideas with others, which is what academics should be all about.

Laconics welcomes provocative articles of any length concerning the life, times, and work of Eugene O’Neill and his contemporaries. Please submit papers (with digital images, if appropriate) to the Laconics Editor.

—Harley Hammerman