The daily Astorian., February 23, 2017, Page 11, Image 23

FEBRUARY 23, 2017 // 11
Continued from Pg. 10
2017 marks the 20th year of the Fisher-
Poets Gathering in Astoria, and it shows no
signs of slowing down. Not only does the
festival bring together renowned fisherpoets
and musicians from around the North Coast,
it also welcomes talented fisherpoets from
all points of the compass such as Alaska,
California, Hawaii, Connecticut, Massachu-
setts, Idaho and British Columbia.
With its rise in imminence, it has gar-
nered plenty of media attention, having
been featured in media both national and
international, including The New York
Times, Smithsonian Magazine, the Wall
Street Journal, NBC and the BBC. The U.S.
Library of Congress has recognized the
FisherPoets Gathering as a “Local Legacy”
project, and the event has even spawned a
genre, fisherpoetry.
Hobe Kytr, director at Salmon For All, was
involved in documenting many of the stories
from now-deceased fisherman when he was on
staff at the Columbia River Maritime Muse-
um. The resulting audio-visual program was
a national award-winner from the American
Association of State and Local History.
“It was the first real opportunity to get an
inside look at the gillnet fishery,” he says.
Pretty heady stuff for an event whose
original intention was largely to give far-
flung friends a chance to gather in one spot.
In all, close to 100 participants are
expected in 2017 — up from about 40 at
the original 1998 gathering. “It speaks to
the connection commercial fisherman have
to their work and one another,” says event
founder Jon Broderick.
‘Unique and relatable’
The festival program includes a wide
variety of performances including original
songs, essays, riddles and poems. Each piece
is delivered by men and women deter-
mined to keep the oral tradition alive while
illustrating the abiding love they feel for a
life that can be at once heartbreaking and
rewarding.
Above all, the Gathering is a chance
for participants and audiences to enjoy the
opportunity to connect and reflect as they
listen to poetry.
Broderick says the closest parallel comes
from Western cowboy culture, where ranch
hands would gather in the bunkhouse after
hours of long, hard work and swap stories.
“It’s a chance to bring kindred spirits
together and tell stories about the work they
love,” he says.
The idea of celebrating work is part of
what draws people to attend the event, de-
spite the majority of them never having set
foot on a commercial fishing vessel.
“Their stories are human stories, set in an
PHOTO BY JOSHUA BESSEX
People watch video shot by Portland-based photographer Corey Arnold projected on a build-
ing during last year’s FisherPoets Gathering. Arnold will return this year.
PHOTO BY JOSHUA BESSEX
FisherPoets Gathering organizers Jay Speak-
man, left, and Jon Broderick will emcee and
perform together Friday at the Astoria Event
Center and Saturday at the Liberty Theater.
Speakman will also lead a Story Circle at 1:30
p.m. Saturday at the Astoria Event Center,
where commercial fishing veterans tell tales
about their work.
PHOTO BY JOSHUA BESSEX
Jeff Stonehill, of Seattle, Washington, reads
his poetry last year at the Fort George Lovell
Showroom. This year he will perform around
9:30 p.m. Friday at the Voodoo Room and
during the 8 p.m. set Saturday at Wet Dog Cafe.
environment that is familiar yet unfamiliar,”
says Joanne Rideout, General Manager at
Astoria’s KMUN Coast Community Radio.
“Their stories are intriguing, unique and
relatable, all at the same time.”
Stories heard at the FisherPoets Gath-
ering can range from comedic to somber.
There are graphic accounts of death and
peril at sea, legends of buried treasure,
melancholy love songs of a sailor, odes to
herring scales, and musings on the thoughts
of various marine creatures.
“Everything you hear is real,” Kytr says,
adding that people are often struck by the
realization that fisherman are “truly deep.”
“Occasionally I’ll talk to one, and they’ll
say, ‘Well, I’m just a dumb fisherman,’” he
says. “My response is always ‘I’ve never
met a dumb fisherman.’”
Rather than being intimidated by the fes-
tival’s material, laypeople have the change,
Rideout says, to come away with not only a
deeper understanding of what commercial
fishermen deal with but also how it might be
applied to their own lives.
“They can learn about loss, strength in
adversity, longing, triumph, failure. What
it means to be human,” she says. “The stuff
PHOTO BY JOSHUA BESSEX
Last year, Anjuli Grantham, of Kodiak, Alaska,
talked about growing up fishing on the west
side of Kodiak Island at the Astoria Event Center.
of human experience, set in a challenging
environment.”
A new generation
As the event hits 20 years, Broderick
is not worried that enthusiasm will fizzle
out any time soon, despite the fact that the
fishing industry generally laments a lack of
younger skippers.
In fact, he says, a new generation of
fisherpoets is already making their voices
heard, something that pleases Broderick
immensely. “I think if all the old guys just
stepped aside today, the gathering would go
on without missing a beat,” he says.
Kytr, a musician, has been involved in
the gathering since its inception and per-
forms original songs. He likes what he sees
for its future, not only at the event but in the
profession. He sees it in the Columbia River
gillnet fishery, at meetings with the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife, and at
Salmon For All.
“We see an astonishing number of young
fishermen, and most of us say, ‘I had no
idea!’” he says.
With that in mind, local support for the
FisherPoets Gathering takes on a deeper
‘THEIR STORIES ARE
HUMAN STORIES, SET
IN AN ENVIRONMENT
THAT IS FAMILIAR YET
UNFAMILIAR.’
importance. Broderick says support has been
there from day one and is only growing
stronger. “I’ve never had to twist anyone’s
arm in this community to help,” he says.
“It’s always been ‘yes.’”
Rideout agrees and feels that Coast Com-
munity Radio’s role as an arts and informa-
tion organization with a community service
mission makes it a good fit at the festival.
Coast Community Radio will broadcast
live both nights from 6 to 10 p.m. from the
Astoria Event Center, streaming on KMUN
91.9 FM, KTCB 89.5 FM and online at
coastradio.org
“When we do this event we are showing
off one of the gems of our community,” she
says, adding that with KMUN’s broadcast
and streaming ability, people all over the
world can and do listen.
More than anything, the event is meant to
be fun.
“It’s the highlight of my year,” Kytr says.
“And I’m certainly not the only one in town
who says that.”