Blog Archives - The Crooked Treehouse

The Crooked Treehouse

Tips From The Bar

Almost every week from 2010-2020 I give a prompt for poets at a bar that didn't survive the Covid pandemic.
Many of the 2011/2012 blog post titles are from the brain of Simone Beaubien.
From 2020-2023 I gave occasional prompts as part of The Saturday Night Poetry Exchange.
Though I am no longer behind the bar at a poetry reading, I'll try and make a prompt a day in 2024.
Lime Warrior Photo by Matthew R McGonagle

For My Niblings In Appreciation Of Their Birth

2/13/2024

"there are so many words for your children &/none of them are dirty--tho not all of them/are yours" --Sam Sax

A dear friend had a habit of intentionally saying the creepiest things to those of us lucky enough to be his friends. In his honor, write a poem for children that may come across as creepy. I don't mean make yourself be a creep. Don't be an edgelord. I mean, write something that's endearing but that they probably shouldn't read until they're older.

Quarentine A Deux

2/12/2024

"a new app tells us when it's safe to breathe/i haven't been outside in weeks" -- Sam Sax

Prompt: How was your life improved, altered, or diminished by the pandemic of 202x? This can be work related, relationship related, whatever moves you.

Easy Fast Queers

2/11/2024

Inspired by a poem from Sam Sax's Pig:

We all belong to more than one culture/community. Tell us of an experience that overlaps two communities you are a part of. How did they impact how you feel about your relationship to those communities?

Interpellation

2/10/2024

"he calls me baby & i am/preverbal & unvaccinated. boy,/& i was." -- Sam Sax
"in the throes a name can be a chicken bone/or burning piano in the throat" -- Sam Sax

What names have u been called? how do they shape how u see yourself? How do they shape how u see the people that called u those names?

A Very Small Animal

2/9/2024

"it's not the lens but the living/who fathom eternity" --Sam Sax

Prompt. Use the quote above as a ghost line to write a poem.

Definition of Ghost Line: bit.ly/48ZbhYP

A Pig Pulls Us Out Of Paradise

2/8/2024

Prompt inspired by a poem from Sam Sax's Pig:

Tell a story about a friend whose views on life, literature, culture, amused you. Was there a particular instance that became significant to your life?

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

2/7/2024

Inspired by a poem from Sam Sax's Pig:

What story did you learn about a relative who was alive during your lifetime changed the way you viewed yourself and/or your family?

Portrait Of A Drag Queen With A Pig Nose

2/6/2024

"below the veil, her silicone snout, scarred and profound. hybrid thing. elegant-bipedal-terrifying. think monster but make it fashion." -- Sam Sax

Prompt: Find a piece of visual art: a painting, a photograph, a collage, a statue, pottery, embroidery, etc. Something that speaks to a culture or a community you are a part of. Go beyond describing what physically describes the art, put it into the cultural perspective from which it speaks to you. Drive your audience to want to see that piece of art, give it a depth it might not have without your poem.

Babe The Pig Does The Sheep Noise When Mourning Its Sheep Mother

2/5/2024

"grief is an animal. we all know that. but which animal/exactly? what kingdom, what family, is it ever a fish?" --Sam Sax

Prompt: Define grief as (an) animal(s). Explain your choice(s).

Rainbow Queen Encyclopedia

2/4/2024

Prompt inspired by Sam Sax's Pig:

What was a common goal/interest that you had with an ex that you abandoned after you broke up. How did your goal never coming to fruition/abandoning your interest actually work out for you in the long run?

Lisp

2/3/2024

Prompt inspired by Sam Sax's Pig:

Write a remembrance or exploration of self focused on repeating the same letter. Try and have a reason for why *that* letter, in particular, is important to you and the story.

Pig Bttm Looking For Now

2/2/2024

From a series of prompts inspired by Sam Sax's Pig:

My partner & I do a multimedia exchange every day. I show him things I think he'd like from TikTok, he shows me things he thinks I'd like from Imgur.

Do this with a friend or loved one for a week, and find something from their feed that inspires you to write a poem. Also, what thing did they show you that made you feel totally seen. "Ah, this person does totally understand me and what I love." Tell us about how your relationship inspired that understanding.

A Brief & Partial History

2/1/2024

From a series of prompts inspired by Sam Sax's Pig:

Looked up "sus sofra," an adorable type of wild boar. "but pig existed before we had tongues/to name it. today we might call them soy & hormone factories."

Update the name of an animal, place, everyday item to reflect how its usage / intention / identity has changed in modern society. Give us a brief history of its transformation, and convince us that your term is better and more accurate.