 Ivan rented a flat with his wife, and from then on was making a living by taking part-time jobs, like that of a type-setter.In the late 1860s Surikov met two poets, Alexander Levitov and Filipp Nefyodov, who helped him get his verses published in magazines like "Delo", "Otechestvennye Zapiski", and "Semya i Shkola".In 1871 his debut collection "Poems" came out (to be re-issued in 1875 and 1877).