For too long the publishing industry and greater arts culture have been held hostage by an entrenched postmodern oligarchy of MFAs and ambitious critics gone wild. Not only did they deconstruct the classics, but in order to maintain their ill-gotten power, they deconstruct living poets, shooting them in the back for marrying truth and classical values to rhyme and meter. Their dictatorial sherrifs murder independent writers with corporate-funded snark attacks, tax-subsidized gang-critic brutality, and smut-subsidized deputies. They dissipate the cultural reservoirs, poison what's left with irony, and then hype and market their piss as poetry. As a ghost I must ride until their regime of snarky intimidation, smut, and literary lawlessness is replaced by a renaissance and revival.

For the most part we High Plains Writers ride alone, as we're the quickest-draws on the frontiers of literature, and when we get together, sometimes we take to shooting one-another just for fun. But we're banding together here, preparing to ride back into town and place our contemporary classics on the front tables of Barnes & Noble and Borders.

Truth be told, you don't need a literary agent today. You don't need a publisher. All you need is Moore's and Metcalfe's Laws. If you're a rugged individual sharing our vision for a revival, we'll do our best to help you get marketing and distribution. Self-publishing rocks. If you're man enough to write it, you might as well be man enough to publish it.

HOW TO RIDE WITH THE HIGH PLAINS WRITERS

WRITERS: We enjoy the company of entreprenuers and rugged individuals out here, so here're the ropes: start by self-publishing your book. Set up an account here. Following their instructions, upload your manuscript. Then send a copy of your screenplay, epic novel, or poetry collection, to HPW at PO BOX 1087, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, along with a cover letter explaining why you'd like to be a part of the renaissance, and a signed copy of our release form. If we like your book, we'll link to it so others can buy it. If we really like your book, we'll publish it at Classicals & jollyroger.com LLC, promote it throughout our sites, and it'll become available in all major bookstores, so you can join us on our book tour when we ride on through your town. Editors and agents are contacting us to gain access to High Plains Writers, so if we think your book's cool, we'll hook you up.

EDITORS/AGENTS Send an email to rangerwest@highplainswriters.com to find out more about writers we represent. We'll provide you with a password that will allow you to browse their work.

This is the renaissance. So get your holster out of the attic, clean your six-shooter, saddle up, and come ride with the best.