A Chat with Linda M. Crate
Linda M. Crate (she/her) is a Pennsylvanian writer. Her poetry, short stories, articles, and reviews have been published in a myriad of magazines both online and in print. She has seven published chapbooks A Mermaid Crashing Into Dawn (Fowlpox Press - June 2013), Less Than A Man (The Camel Saloon - January 2014), If Tomorrow Never Comes (Scars Publications, August 2016), My Wings Were Made to Fly (Flutter Press, September 2017), splintered with terror (Scars Publications, January 2018), More Than Bone Music (Clare Songbirds Publishing House, March 2019), and the samurai (Yellow Arrowing Publishing, October 2020), and three micro-chapbooks Heaven Instead (Origami Poems Project, May 2018), moon mother (Origami Poems Project, March 2020), and & so i believe (Origami Poems Project, April 2021).
What inspires you to write?
I am someone who happens to be inspired by everything: music, real life, nature, anime, movies, other books, etc. I guess that I am lucky in that way, but since I have so many ideas in my head at once sometimes it's hard to know which direction to go in first.
Tag three of your favourite IG poets we should read:
@thesweetmaris
@kashleybell
@kristiningridgarth
What are some common themes you see in your own work?
The importance of found family, the healing power of nature, trauma, reclaiming my power, reconstructing myself from the chaos of the past, being okay with my dark side because the darkness isn't evil as we've been taught, that everyone's hero is someone else's villain, that people aren't always what they seem.
How do you beat writer's block?
Spending time in nature, watching anime or movies, reading books, even just stepping away and doing some housework and coming back to it can help.
Do you feel that sharing your poetry is a vulnerable process?
I do because I tend to put my heart and soul into everything I'm writing whether it is a poem, short story, or a novel. Writing is taking what's on our minds and making it into an art form to share with others, in the hopes it resonates or helps someone to see things from a different perspective. I think that it's important that editors remember this when they have harsh critiques about writers or what they choose to write about because we've all come from different experiences and lived different lives. Each of our stories is valid even if a poem or story isn't for you doesn't mean that the author has failed or is a bad writer, it just means that the piece isn't for you.
What/who influenced you to become a poet?
Adrienne Rich, T.S. Eliot, E.e. Cummings, Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson
What is the first book that made you cry?
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
What does "good poetry" mean to you?
Poetry that makes me feel something. I don't like poems that are weird for the sake of being weird or those that are purposefully obtuse and without meaning. If a poem can make me feel something, then I feel it is a good poem. A good poem doesn't have to be complicated, wordy, or eloquent to be a good poem. It just has to mean something to someone.
What is your revision process like?
I tend to revise as I go along. I don't like being interrupted during the writing process, so I tend to write it as it flows, but if I notice something isn't flowing quite right I will give pause and revise it to make sure it flows the way that I want.
What is your writing process like?
I have a job so any time I am not at work or visiting with family and friends I am probably working on something or devising the plot for my next project whether it be a short story, novel, poem, or book of poetry.
How do you research for your poems?
I tend to write from personal experience, and I have a lot of knowledge of mythology; fantasy, and mythological creatures that I have a tendency to weave into my pieces. But if there is something I don't know about that I wish to like about I will find a few different online sources, read books about the subject, and then decide if it is something that I would like to pursue or not.
Books by Linda:
The Samurai
Linda’s books on Amazon