About Gentle House
Gentle House and Tupelo Press opened an exciting new residency program in the summer of 2023, with an extraordinary gift by Sean Mac Falls (1957 – 2023) in Gentle House, a property and residency donated to Tupelo Press as an artist retreat in order to serve a global community of diverse poets, playwrights, and songwriters who seek the space to create extraordinary books, poetry, plays, films and music.
Tupelo Press at Gentle House, located in what is now Port Angeles, Washington, offers residencies for writers and artistic community building. Gentle House rests on the ancestral homelands of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla peoples in the S’Klallam territories. Here is found the site of trade, travel, gathering and healing of these and other tribes. It also sits in close proximity to two S’Klallam tribal communities, the Jamestown and Lower Elwah S’Klallam tribes.
Consistent with our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Tupelo Press recognizes our responsibility as a nationally renowned literary institution, to work towards building and supporting relationships with Native American communities through our literary pursuits, partnerships, and historical programs.
A literary nonprofit, our mission is to support visionary writers and artists whose creative work and ideas will shape our culture now and for generations to come. Tupelo Press plans to offer writing, music, and playwriting retreats, broadening what we offer to honor Seán Mac Falls’ profound gift and deep commitment to the arts.
In the summer of 2023 renovations began and Gentle House welcomed her first short residencies during our early renovations. Six poets participating in the Tupelo Press 30/30 Project visited Gentle House as a thank you for their support. Gentle House received a major donation to fund two BIPOC poets for a month in July in 2024. Announcements and calls for applications will follow. We plan to offer one and two week paid residences throughout the year, as well as residencies for our published poets and further opportunities for our 30/30 alumns.
Watch this site for future announcements and opportunities as we grow!
Gentle House supports writers by offering a quiet sustaining space that facilitates the focus needed for generating creativity in writing, music, and playwriting.