FEBRUARY 23, 2017 // 3
&
OUT ABOUT
NOTES FROM THE EDITOR
It’s time for the
20th annual
FisherPoets
Gathering
This week’s Coast
2017 FisherPoets
Gathering program.
You can find the pro-
gram on Pages 13 to 20.
With its own cover, the
program both fits snugly
in Coast Weekend and is
Weekend, is a special
edition (and a large
one!). We’ve once
again partnered with the
FisherPoets Gathering
to bring you the official
coast
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
weekend
a middle pull-out section
readers can remove. It will
help fisherpoet fans easily
navigate their way around
the various venues and
special events of the 20th
annual Gathering, which
runs Friday, Saturday and
Sunday, Feb. 24, 25 and 26
in downtown Astoria.
Pull the program out to
carry with you as you tra-
verse the Gathering from
venue to venue. Or, keep it
in Coast Weekend and read
up on all the fun events
happening in the region
this weekend between sets
of fisherpoetry.
For an introduction to
the Gathering, make sure
you don’t miss the Coast
Weekend cover story on
Page 10, which lays out
some history and what
Gathering-goers can ex-
COAST WEEKEND EDITOR
REBECCA SEDLAK
COAST WEEKEND PHOTOS
DANNY MILLER
arts & entertainment
ADVERTISING MANAGER
BETTY SMITH
ON THE COVER
CONTRIBUTORS
DAN HAAG
DWIGHT CASWELL
PATRICK WEBB
LYNETTE RAE MCADAMS
Renee Ahre, of Astoria, reads a
poem titled “Damn Sea Lions” at
the Astoria Event Center at last
year’s FisherPoets Gathering.
PHOTO BY JOSHUA BESSEX
See story on Page 10
4
COASTAL LIFE
A teen fi sherpoet
Ilwaco teenager captures life afl oat in poetry
FEATURE
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© 2017 COAST WEEKEND
Coast Weekend welcomes comments
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ation must be submitted by 10 a.m.
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‘Truly deep’
12
THE ARTS
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‘Vital to the human experience’
Phone: 503.325.3211 Ext. 217
or 800.781.3211
Fax: 503.325.6573
E-mail: rsedlak@dailyastorian.com
Address: P.O.Box 210 •
949 Exchange St. Astoria,
OR 97103
22
20th annual FisherPoets Gathering hits Astoria
Two fi shers create art out of their work
DINING
Mouth of the Columbia
Find heavenly cornbread at Chinook restaurant
FURTHER ENJOYMENT
MUSIC CALENDAR .....................5
SEE + DO....................................8, 9
CROSSWORD..............................27
CW MARKETPLACE..................24
GRAB BAG...................................30
Find it all online!
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Coast Weekend is published every
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all rights reserved. No part of this
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Coast Weekend appears weekly
in The Daily Astorian and the
Chinook Observer.
pect this year.
I’ve attended the
Gathering four times. The
combination of labor-in-
tense, blue-collar work
stories with literary form
is enlightening and inspir-
ing.
At the Gathering,
speakers on stage tell
many stories throughout
the weekend: tragedies
and triumphs, home-
sickness, weather woes,
fast friendships and hard
work. Audiences listen
to limericks about new
boats, poems about the
call of the sea, stories of
heartache and loneliness,
and bawdy rhymes. And
all of it focuses on the art
of fishing.
One thing that’s strik-
ing about this event is the
variety of experiences
attendees can get from
it. Depending on which
venue you visit, on which
night, and which fisherpo-
ets are on stage, the feel-
ings, mood and over-arch-
ing experience you walk
away with can differ from
that of your neighbor.
Are you part of the
dark crowd in the Voodoo
Room? Do you enjoy the
bustle of the Wet Dog
Cafe? What about the
intimacy of KALA? Or
perhaps you listen on
KMUN 91.9 FM, broad-
cast live from the Astoria
Event Center. Are you go-
ing to watch films at the
Columbian Theater? Or
do you want to turn your
own hand to writing in the
on-site poetry contest?
There’s an endless
array of stories to hear
Rebecca Sedlak
COAST WEEKEND EDITOR
rsedlak@dailyastorian.com
and activities to enjoy.
You don’t have to do them
all — there are 90-some
poets at this year’s Gath-
ering, after all. But that
lively variety makes this
festival something truly
special.