From film critic to poet, Linda Kraus has an eye for detail. She enjoys shining a light on frequently unseen aspects of life and showing their worth. Her poem Redefining Beauty examines an ancient pottery practice that makes once unsightly broken shards into works of art, and naturally she uses her knack for detail to create masterful lines in this work. Redefining Beauty won First Place for Published Poetry in the 2018 Royal Palm Literary Awards. Learn more about Linda’s winning entry and her advice for writers in this week’s RPLA showcase.
Linda’s Writing Journey
I have been a writer since adolescence—primarily a poet but a fiction writer also. My first paid job after college was that of a professional film critic. It was a job that taught me the importance of accuracy and the understanding of a diversified reading audience to which I was accountable.
The Winning Entry, Redefining Beauty
Logline: A potter’s creative use of broken shards provides a new way of seeing beauty.
The concept of Kintsugi, the centuries-old Japanese art of repairing objects with liquid gold, is one that has intrigued me for many years. I first used it in a short story with an American potter trying to learn the process and adapt the Japanese aesthetic to his own work. Somehow, the concept, which is so radically different from the American concept of beauty, seemed better suited to a poem and I tried again. I love the idea of glorifying imperfection within a cross-cultural context and I hope that my poem does it justice.
Read an excerpt of Redefining Beauty here.
Two Truths and a Lie, Writer’s Edition
Write only what you know.
Write, revise or journal every day.
Always have paper and pen with you.
The lie? Write only what you know. This dictum is helpful in memoir and will inform certain other genres but a writer’s imagination is our greatest asset – think of crime and fantasy writing as examples. Let your imagination soar!
You should write, revise or journal every day. No matter how busy or tired you are, this is essential. Letting your work “sit” for weeks and then rereading it is part of this process. Even a few minutes a day spent rereading can change the perspective or solve a problem in a previous draft.
Also, always have paper and pen with you (including on your nightstand). Record snippets of conversation, dreams, words that intrigue you, magical moments of natural beauty, things that bring you to tears or anger. These entries will seed your future writing.
Other Works by Linda
I have written a lot of film criticism and I taught film studies at colleges and universities for many tears. Not surprisingly, my first collection of poetry comprises cinematic poems.
Coming Next from this Author
I am in the process of finishing my first manuscript and hoping to publish it with a second one not far behind. The poems in the second collection center on women’s issues, aging, and living meaningfully.
Connect with Linda
I am really not a Luddite and I will have a website in the future—perhaps a blog also. I have a very active Facebook page and you can message me there. Yes, I will get back to you.
More about RPLA
The Royal Palm Literary Awards competition is a service of the Florida Writers Association established to recognize excellence in members’ published and unpublished works while providing objective and constructive written assessments for all entrants. Judges include literary agents, publishers, film producers, current or retired professors, teachers, librarians, editors, bestselling and award-winning authors, and journalists from across the nation. Entries are scored against the criteria set by RPLA using rubrics tailored to each genre. Winners are announced at the annual FWA conference during the RPLA awards banquet. To learn more about RPLA, click here for the guidelines.
