The daily Astorian., February 23, 2017, Page 10, Image 22

10 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
PHOTO BY JOSHUA BESSEX
PHOTO BY JOSHUA BESSEX
The Astoria Event Center, from which KMUN broadcasts live both nights, boasts the most
seats, raised theater seating in the back and a big stage.
Larry Kaplan, from Essex, Connecticut, plays a song on guitar during last year’s FisherPoets
Gathering. Hear him perform 6 p.m. Friday at Wet Dog, 8 p.m. Friday at the Voodoo Room
and around 8:40 p.m. Saturday at the Voodoo.
CH E CK
E
OU T TH L
IA
OFFIC TO
M
PROGR A AR’S
E
THIS Y OE TS
FISHERP RING
GATHE G ON
STARTIN 13
PAGE
The 20th annual FisherPoets Gathering celebrates oral traditions and the human experience
By DAN HAAG
n the days of commercial fi shing
gone by, men and women would
anchor alongside one another before
the season got underway and read to
one another over radios when fi shing
was slow or during late nights at the
cannery. Driven by a desire to revive
and sustain this oral tradition, kindred
spirits decided to congregate in Astoria once
a year on the last weekend in February to
present original work.
It was dubbed the FisherPoets Gathering.
Going on 20 years, the annual festival
has evolved into a way for the close-knit
commercial fi shing community to honor one
another through poems, stories and song.
A wide reach
Astoria remains proud of its fi shing heritage.
Established near the mouth of the Colum-
bia River, the city was the hub of commer-
cial salmon fi shing in the 19th and early
20th centuries. With thousands of resident
fi shermen and scores of canneries lining the
river, the town became synonymous with the
salmon industry.
The FisherPoets Gathering — which
takes place Friday, Saturday and Sunday,
Feb. 24, 25 and 26 across 10 Astoria venues
— honors that history, as well as those still
plying cold ocean waters to make a living.
Besides poetry recitations and storytelling,
the weekend will feature fi lms, workshops
and live music.
During this three-day celebration, audiences
are given a rare, precious insight into the cul-
ture of the contemporary fi shing community.
The Gathering’s oral tradition com-
bines old-school fishermen and a new
generation of poets and audiences, and it
has evolved into a vibrant art form. The
festival retains the character of yesteryear
while discussing more modern themes
relating to the fishing industry such as
sustainability, concerns about the fishing
industry’s future, and its relationship with
the modern, often unyielding demands of
the 21st century.
Continued on Pg. 11