ULA Strengths

Insane as it may seem, I'm satisfied with where the Underground Literary Alliance is at the present time. Despite occasional setbacks, we have a solid foundation in place. Our strengths:

THE ULA NAME
The word "ULA" encompasses a literary movement starkly different from anything else on the scene today. We're unique. There's no group of writers like us.

The ULA name includes as well our unbeatable history of excitement-- performances and actions never before seen.

ULA INTEGRITY
We've maintained our integrity from the beginning. We've unflinchingly fought corruption on the literary scene, always with our own identities. No skulking around, no cowardice, no apologies.

ULA MEMBERS AND WRITERS
It's amazing how strong our cast remains. At the head of our pack at the moment are two excellent underground writers-- excellent in different ways. WRED FRIGHT's Pornographic Flabbergasted Emus is readable and endlessly hilarious. Pop fiction with the bright joy, energy, and humanity of a rock n roll song. JAMES NOWLAN's Security is much darker, a gritty chaotic look at surviving within a chaotic civilization: unflinching reality from the first page.

A total original is novelist WILD BILL BLACKOLIVE, as is poet FRANK WALSH, whose poems make the literati's award-winners look like the product of five year-olds. JESSICA WILBER is one of the best young writers under thirty. We have other good writers, young and not-so young, from STEVE KOSTECKE of Azian Kix to CRAZY CARL ROBINSON to ERIC BROOMFIELD to LISA FALOUR to others I'm sure I'm forgetting to name. We also have in our ranks the most legendary of the underground "old guys," JACK SAUNDERS, who is also the best commentator on underground writing and culture in the country.

Behind-the-scenes ULA workers, artists, and agitators include PAT SIMONELLI, ADAM HARDIN, TOM HENDRICKS, YUL TOLBERT, JEFF POTTER, and myself. (Other ULAers scattered around the country include GRANT SCHREIBER in Chicago, and CHRISTOPHER ROBIN and JOE PACHINKO on the west coast, among others.)

We have other allies who soon enough will be officially joining the ULA team.

ULA BOOKS
We're now getting our writers to the market, competing straight up with the big guys. We have two presses; ULA PRESS (www.ulapress.com) and LIT-VISION (www.litvision.org). With this aspect finally under way, the ULA campaign is really only beginning.