"Disaster" and beyond: 1 question for Donald Illich

Donald Illich is the author of "The Mistake" and "The Talent," both of which are live today on our site.

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It's been more than five years since we published your poem "Disaster." What have you been up to since, and how has it affected your work?

In the last five years I've been trying to publish a book of poetry, as well as poems in general. I've been much less successful on both fronts than I'd like. I've gone through several different styles beyond the "surreal" one that "Disaster" represents, though maybe that style is what I'm best at. I keep at it because poetry is incredibly important to me, and I'm not going to give up on it. I'm really happy that failbetter has taken my work, because I see it as a good omen for this year in my publication efforts (though I just got rejected for a book prize).