Reflections on the Writers Studio at Pentaculum, 2025
By Kelli Fitzpatrick
There are few places as magical as Arrowmont. It is, in every sense, the ideal writing environment—a beautiful setting, a supportive vibe, and absolutely wonderful people to work alongside. It is permission and space to create in the purest sense, with openness and lightness and imagination.
This was my third time attending Pentaculum, and my first year serving as the Assistant Coordinator for the Writers Studio. Each Pentaculum experience is different, a unique gathering of artists with diverse talents and focuses, but with a common goal of holding space for each other to create in community.
Staff House.
This year, the participants in the Writers Studio clicked immediately, and I had the pleasure of taking part in a number of productive group activities, including co-working sessions in which we each drilled down into our own projects (short stories, poems, essays), workshopping sessions gathered around the living room listening to a peer read their work and offering feedback, as well as brainstorming please-help-me-sort-through-the-mess parties. These interactions bubbled up organically. Can I run this idea by you? Do you have a minute to get me unstuck? Taken together, they established a rhythm of work that was both individual and simultaneously collective.
Kelli’s revision process, with Inspiration Bowl in the background.
Derek and I outlined a short story together we plan to co-write, and paparouna helped get us past a sticky plot point. During a coworking session, paparouna and I talked through her concept for a new story. Erin uncovered the seed of an essay during a chat and a draft bloomed in a flurry of creative energy. Noah mined the Arrowmont library (and other participants!) for info about rocks, which informed their reading. Given refined his poetry (some of which paparouna translated into Greek on the spot) and he later helped me solve a character issue in my novel. Sarah, Pentaculum’s yoga instructor, stayed in Staff House with us and became an honorary member of our studio, writing alongside us. Kyle, our Coordinator, made space for group bonding and the intensely beautiful conversations that crack open late at night in front of a hearth in the mountains.
Following tradition, Kyle created an inspiration bowl for us to drop clippings of poems, scrap notes, and recorded quotations throughout the week, for attendees from other studios to peruse as inspiration. It was exciting to see these snippets manifest across campus throughout the week.
A quote from the Inspiration Bowl, carved on a mug.
We each were inspired and awed by the art of other studios. We each made friends and found exactly what we needed in this moment in our lives and careers.
I will leave you with each writer’s words of what this Pentaculum meant to them:
Kyle Lang: This year’s Pentaculum brought together such a unique collection of humans who bonded in ways I couldn’t anticipate. There’s something special in the water at Arrowmont that opens us all up and allows us to be our best creative selves.
Kyle Lang.
Given Davis: My artist heart is never as sated as when it is steeped so deeply in the fervor of a buzzing creative community. Within these spaces, I am most able to find myself again. The hive of Pentaculum was a rare and transformational nest and refuge. After the sweetness of our time together, I return inspired and ignited to continue growing beyond what I could see for myself or my practice just weeks ago.
Given Davis and paparouna.
paparouna: Pentaculum gave me the time, space, inspiration, and community that I needed to imagine myself as the artist and writer I’m becoming. The writing cohort was one of the most wonderful and supportive groups I have ever been part of and seeing all the other artists work their magic was exactly what I was looking for to unleash my own creativity.
Noah Grabeel: The inspiration that came from all the other artists in this year’s Pentaculum, and the support of Arrowmont, was truly transformative. Allowing myself no expectations resulted in a deeper dive in craft and my writing process than I’ve ever managed before while juggling daily life tasks. I reconnected with myself and the mountains in a profoundly meaningful way that won’t soon be forgotten.
Noah Grabeel.
Kelli Fitzpatrick: The group dynamic in the Writers Studio this year was supportive, focused, and deeply kind. I am honored to be part of an experience that values bringing people together around the ideals of creativity, collaboration, and holding space for art. I was able to make major progress on revising a novel, and will cherish the friends I made here for many years to come.
Derek Tyler Attico and Kelli Fitzpatrick.
Derek Tyler Attico: Sometimes in life, if you’re fortunate, the energy of others rejuvenates your own. As I move towards becoming a full-time author, it’s often challenging to find the time for meaningful reflection on my craft amidst the momentum of ongoing projects. Pentaculum provided precisely what I needed—a shift in pace, a vibrant, giving community, and inspiring conversations with fellow authors and the diverse group of talented artists at Arrowmont. My experience at Pentaculum was genuinely life-changing and something I will always cherish.
Erin Ergenbright: I came to the Pentaculum residency without expectations, thinking of the whole experience as a ceremony, and that just being there would be exactly what I needed. And it absolutely was, and I couldn’t have imagined a more magical group of writers to share a week with. I wrote a full draft of an essay that never would have emerged without the generosity and encouragement of this group, and this residency helped reset my sense of myself as a writer. I am grateful for every minute of it!
Erin Ergenbright.
Sarah Love: Pentaculum 2025 held me fully as I stood confidently in the newly not-liminal space of being both precisely and fluidly myself. I met people that I will hold on to for lifetimes – in their glimmering reflections, I saw myself more clearly as a result. Thank you, Arrowmont. You continue to be a safe harbor for the creatives, and a springboard for deeply rooted relationships. The depth of your container transcends the bounds of your walls.
The Writers Studio.
Photo credits: Group photo by Arrowmont. Mug photo by paparouna. All other photos by Kelli Fitzpatrick.
