Adventures in the Underground

Postcards from Pottersville, Vol. 3 Adventures in the Underground Edited by Jack Saunders

When we think of underground writers, we think of the ones who crossed over into the mainstream, like Patti Smith or Kathy Acker. Richard Brautigan or Charles Bukowski. You can't know about someone you've never heard of.

But there are other writers who have had long, productive careers in the underground and not crossed over. Some of them didn't want to, some would, but only on their terms, and some might yet, but haven't, so far. They might cross over posthumously.

Some might die forgotten or underappreciated. Known only to their peers, in an obscure and little-valued bailiwick of which they were masters, or captains. Like the captain of a ship.

Or the captain of a huckleberry party, as Emerson called Thoreau, a self-published writer, who didn't amount to doodly squat in his lifetime.

Jack Saunders, a 30-year veteran of the small press, little magazine, mail art, zine, and literary web site on the Internet wars, has assembled an anthology of underground writers in the latest volume of the Postcards From Pottersville series, which he calls Adventures in the Underground.

He has included roots musicians, folk artists, and independent filmmakers who share the do-it-yourself ethic that inspired the civil rights movement, environmentalism, women's lib, gay pride, the peace movement, clear on back to the Merry Pranksters and Ken Kesey's bus, Furthur, with Colored Power written on the side.

Huh? What'd he say?

As Bob Dylan said, "Something is happening here, but you don't know what it is. Do you, Mister Jones?"

Some people get it and some people don't.

The underground lives!