FEBRUARY 23, 2017 // 19
Cathy
‘See yon hyeuk?’ says Cathy.
‘Yon’s ma life.’
Three-quarters of an inch of steel,
Barbed at the hyeutter, bent,
It glitters
Like a jewel.
Tiny. Cathy, six stone, volatile as petrol,
Wiry, lean,
Puts on her shawl.
Pleased to see you, kettle on,
Deaf as a sharpening stone
To every sound
Except the wireless static crackle
From the boat,
A little whirlwind,
She pegs the sheets out in the back yard,
Scrubs the step, stirs the pan,
Swabs the floor:
‘When fetther hord it was
Another girl
He slammed the door.
Aye, but
He couldn’t dae wi’oot dowters, ye kna.’
Cathy, bent
Beneath the creel:
Home from the mussel beds, the limpet pool;
Six stone of haddocks haa’ked aroond Reed Raa’,
Husband, in-laws, tugging at her, kin
Needing her care,
Mussels to skeyn,
The boat to launch, lines to bait, claes to poss,
Sons to bear;
Cathy, bent with pains,
Years; busy as a sanderling,
Never still,
Down the harbour with the barrow, eyes
Blue as the Coquet, bright
As steel,
As hard, as sharp, as necessary
As a fish-hook
To the house, the men;
Cathy, without whom
A coble could not go to sea — as vital to it
As diesel, or the wind.
— Katrina Porteous, Beadnell, Northumberland, England
(from Two Countries, Bloodaxe Books. 2014.)
What’s new at the 2017 FisherPoets Gathering
If only fishing seasons
were like this, each one the
biggest yet. Who’s even had
time to count all the fisher-
poets joining us for the 20th
annual FisherPoets Gather-
ing? Not us. We’ve deck-
loaded seven venues with
them, though, and welcome
the new voices among us,
young and old, come from
far and near.
From Alaska, Maggie
Bursch, Maria Dosal and
Jerre Wills join us for the
first time. Kirk Lombard has
come up from San Francis-
co. Abigail Martin joins her
dad from Broadus, Montana.
Washington sends us Elma
Burnham, Amy Grondin,
Annie Howell-Adams, Jef-
frey Kahrs, Dennis Knagin,
Don Pugh and Kendall
Rock. Phil Meehan has
come over from Portland.
From here near the mouth of
the Columbia Danny Keyser,
RK and Cherry Rice, and
Taylor Young have stopped
by.
We’ve had to start at 5
p.m. to get us all aboard.
The Liberty Theater has
invited us in Saturday night
to be sure there is room
enough for fisherpoet friends
and fans.
Like almost always, the
FisherPoets Gearshack has
a new address. This year
we thank Mimi Rose for
giving us 1184 Commercial
for the weekend. We’re no
longer wrestling there with
old credit card machines and
can thank Amanda Gladics
for introducing us to 21st
century technology at the
cashier’s desk. You’ll find,
among scores of inviting
items at the silent auction
and books and CDs by
your favorite fisherpoets,
Ray Troll’s terrific art on
our 20th annual FisherPo-
ets Gathering poster and
T-shirts.
Since space was limited
this year at the Columbia
River Maritime Museum,
we’ve wandered down to
Pier 39 Saturday morning
for some of our workshops.
PATRICK DIXON
PDIXONPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
Ed Edmo of Portland will read
during the 6 p.m. set Friday at
Columbian Theater and at 8
p.m. Saturday at Fort George.
There’s parking for most of
you who aren’t taking an
early walk.
You won’t find Cold
Stream tied up for a visit this
year, unfortunately. Though
she’s in good shape, Dave
Densmore’s been in the
shipyard himself. You might
see him crutching around on
a new ankle, a poem or two
sticking out his back pocket.
Don’t bump him.
In addition to extending
open mic hours to 3 to 5 p.m.
both nights at WineKraft,
we’ve finagled an invita-
tion from Rebecca Kraft to
singers and their friends to
gather there starting at 10
p.m. Saturday night. It could
become a tradition.
We’ve included in the
program a lovely poem by
fisherpoet Katrina Porteous
who joined us a few years
ago clear from England,
which she sent this week
with her good wishes for
our 20th annual Gather-
ing. Cathy celebrates a
hard-working woman like
those others we know, like
us. See how it sounds aloud.
Maybe ask George Wilson
to read it for you.
The rest of the 2017
FisherPoets Gathering
should feel familiar to folks
who’ve been with us awhile.
We’re glad you’re here and
look forward to spending the
weekend with you, maybe
the best ever. Again.
FisherPoets Gathering thanks its silent auction donors
Come by the FisherPoets
Gathering Gearshack at 1184
Commercial St. and have a
look. Bidding starts at 1 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 24 and ends at 4
p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25.
Astoria Business Equip-
ment Company
Adagio
Astoria Coffeehouse &
Bistro
Astoria Co-op Grocery
Astoria Holiday Inn
Express
Astoria-Warrenton Cham-
ber of Commerce
Baked Alaska restaurant
Bank of the Pacific
Blue Scorcher Bakery
Bridgewater Bistro
Brownsmead Flats
Cannery Bunkhouse at Pier 39
Cannery Pier Hotel
Cargo
PATRICK DIXON/
PDIXONPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
Mariah Warren of Sitka, Alaska,
will emcee Friday at the Fort
George Lovell Showroom.
Carol Newman
Carruthers restaurant
Clatsop County Historical
Society
Coast Community Radio
Columbia River Coffee Roaster
Columbia River Eco Tours
Columbia River Maritime
Museum
Columbia Riverkeeper
Commercial St. Antiques
Copper River Fleece
Fernhill Glass
Finn Ware
Fishpeople Seafood, Dun-
can Berry
Forsythea
Fort George Brewery
Four Winds Canvas Works
Fulio’s Pastaria
Gimre’s Shoes
Gulley’s Butcher Shop
Hotel Elliott
Icicle Seafoods, Larsen
Bay AK
Imogen Gallery
In the Boudoir
Jill McVarish, artist
Josephson’s Specialty
Seafood Products
LaRee Johnson & Andy
Ciers
Lightbox Photographic
Gallery
Lost Art Originals
Lucy Barna Jewelry
Maiden Astoria
Myhermade Design
Mary Davies
Meg B Jones Jewelry
Old Town Framing
Pat Dixon Photography
Purple Cow Toys
Ratz and Co., artist Dave
McMacken
Ray Troll
Rogue Ales Public House
Senator Betsy Johnson
Sesame And Lily
Skipanon Brand Seafood
Studio 11, Jamie Boyd
Studio 11, John Clark
Sweater Heads
Ted Messing
Victoria and Anthony
Stoppiello
Warrenton Deep Sea
Market
Wild Product Seafood