Todd Dills: Who's Who: Alicia Eler: CenterstageChicago.com

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Todd Dills

DIY lit mag The2ndHand is still going strong after eight years.

Monday Feb 11, 2008. By Alicia Eler

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If you've ever perused the counter full of fliers at Quimby's, chances are you've come across literary publication The2ndHand. Started in 2000 by Todd Dills, the magazine is now in its eighth year and putting outs its 27th issue. And it still accomplishes what it set out to do: provide a forum for experimental work and a venue for younger writers doing non-mainstream writing. The2ndHand team publishes the mag once a month in print and weekly online at the2ndhand.com. Dills, a recent Chicago-to-Birmingham transplant and author of the 2006 novel Sons of Rapture, remains the editor and publisher of the publication.

How did The2ndHand start?
Back in 2000 or so, I had been here in Chicago for a couple of years—maybe a year-and-a-half—and I was at Columbia at grad school. When I was growing up, I was kinda in bands and all this kinda stuff, so we put out a couple of records when I was in college and they weren't very good. But the spirit is just bred into you; I mean we were kids, maybe 18—but we did a lot of singing down in the Carolinas, where I grew up. So out of that, you sort of have this DIY ethic trained into you. And it's a great way to approach the arts I think.

I came here and I didn't have that anymore. I wasn't playing in a band and I wanted to write, which is why I came to Chicago in the first place. And after I was here for a while, my answer to this was to start a magazine and…try to do it in an as over-the-top manner as possible—at the same time keep it legit and within the financial means. So we came up with this broadsheet. The first issue had a couple of stories but looked like shit. We started posting online within that first year and quickly realized that here's a way to do shorter material. So along the way we got much better stuff. And that's the goal of any small literary magazine: to publish good stuff. I love the stories we publish. They're original, they're experimental, they're beautiful and angry and weird and sad and all else. You can pick-up free copies at a core of about 30 places, a lot of shops. Quimby's is probably the most reliable.

What's your favorite hidden gem in Chicago?
This is probably not hidden, but the Skylark bar in Pilsen. I absolutely love that place. I used to work there. Every time I go, one of three bartenders is behind the bar. It functions sort of as a home away from home for a lot of people.

Tell me the best Chicago-related advice you've ever given or received.
If you ride a bike, wear a helmet. Because you will get hit and you will go down and you will hit your head on the pavement. That's a big mistake I've made, and I've given that advice many times.

Who are you reading these days?
I've been really into Roberto Bolaño, a writer who died in 2003. He's originally from Chile, but lived in Mexico for awhile. I read Nazi Literature in America, which was kinda like the directory of Nazi literature in America. His books have been translated a lot in the past three years.

Look for Issue No. 27 of The2ndHand and a subsequent release party at Quimby's, 1854 W. North, on Saturday, March 8 at 7 p.m. Readings by Jill Summers, Lauren Pretnar and Chris Bower; hosted by Audio Editor, C.T. Ballentine.

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