America's Writers?

No lit-group can lay better claim to that designation than those in the Underground Literary Alliance. We're grass roots people who've created our own movement, an offshoot of the populist "zine" scene. We represent art not imposed from on high by experts, but spontaneously created, organic, from the ground up-- the authentic voice of America now.

Dave Eggers by contrast has dropped any pretentions he once had (which were always phony) to being alternative. He has fully embraced the large conglomerates and the most esteemed stuffy or stale Insider writers around, such as Jonathan Franzen and Joyce Carol Oates.

Neither does the Eurocentric gang at NEW CRITERION represent the pulse of the streets alleys trailers rivers roads noise voice of this diverse great country-- if anything they're more refined and privileged than the snobby MCSWEENEY'S crowd.

Whether the ULA is the engine of change or not, that change is coming-- American lit has so boxed itself into a corner of marginalization in this society there's no other choice than authentic D-I-Y lit. It might come from a long-time folk writer like Jack Saunders-- or maybe indeed instead from a teenager writing today on a LiveJournal. Someone out there uncorrupted unbought will set the spark to kick off real literary revolution to rescue the American word. The ULA wants to be there when that moment occurs, that's all.