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or a story or pen some lyrics to do it,”
Broderick said.
New fisherpoets
Josh Wisniewski, an anthropologist
who works with treaty tribes in Washing-
ton, has fished since 1994 when he was
18.
Wisniewski said reading Gary Snyder’s
“Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems” when
he was young made him interested in writ-
ing about his own experiences.
“I love the aesthetics of fishing. I love
the boats, the buoys, the smells, the sights,
every single part of it,” he said.
He plans to perform “The Setnet-
ters Sabbath,” “Tide Change,” “North
Pacific Fish Farm” and “Conservation”
at the Gathering. The poems address
longlining, opportunities and access, and
conservation.
Wisniewski said ideas come to him
often when he’s sitting down at home or
on an anchor.
“I’ll find time to start writing it down,
and then I usually just sit on it for a while
and then maybe eventually put it into my
computer and kind of tweak it a little bit
more,” he said.
Karen Gimbel of Calgary, Alberta, was
drawn to the Gathering through friends
and family who have attended, and for her
love of poetry and fishing.
Gimbel has fished since 1980 and said
writing has made her reflect on her days
fishing on Bristol Bay in Alaska.
“Fishing was a lifestyle for us. All of
our days were wrapped around the seasons
of Dillingham, Alaska … we worked hard
to survive,” Gimbel said.
Gimbel writes poetry with pen and
paper. Her poetry explores connections
between things, death, the cycles of life
and impermanence.
“Often enough a poem just ‘comes
through’ but other times, I sit with an idea
for months, and sometimes find using dif-
ferent ‘forms’ useful to help them come
in,” she said.
Vocalist Kim Menster of Cordova,
Alaska, has always played with words.
“I focus on humor and how words fit
together,” Menster said. “Words make
me happy and how words are used. I like
word play.”
Menster began writing fisherpoetry
after Joanna Reichhold start the In Em
Fisher Folk Festival in Cordova after per-
forming at the FisherPoets Gathering.
Menster has fished since 1994 and
bought her own boat in 1998.
She credits the rhythmic and repetitive
jobs fishing entails, like hanging nets, as
part of what drew her to writing songs.
Photos by Colin Murphey
Jon Broderick, foreground, and Jay Speakman perform at the Labor Temple Bar during the 2018 FisherPoets Gathering.
‘IT’S A PARTY. IT’S LIKE
CHRISTMAS DINNER OR
THANKSGIVING DINNER,
YOU KNOW? YOU MAY
NOT MAKE IT EVERY
YEAR BUT YOU’RE
ALWAYS INVITED.’
Jon Broderick, one of the
Gathering’s founders and organizers
“I kind of get stuck on a phrase or a
word that I like. As I’m going through my
repetitive stuff, (I’ll) start playing with
words,” she said.
Menster will sing “Useless and Pretty,”
“Hotlaps” and “The Ballad of the Jimani,”
which is about a boat she used to work on
and its crew.
Returning to shore
Broderick said it’s enjoying people’s
company and catching up that keeps peo-
ple coming back.
“It’s a party. It’s like Christmas dinner
or Thanksgiving dinner, you know?” he
said. “You may not make it every year but
you’re always invited.” CW
The FisherPoets Gathering creates standing-room-only crowds at several venues in Astoria,
including the Columbian Theater.