“We’ll see you in Astoria next year,” Jon Broderick signed off with a smile, closing out five minutes of poetry via Zoom from Portland fisherman David Bean.

Last year was Broderick’s 25th of hosting the annual FisherPoets Gathering, an annual ode to the people and stories of the commercial fishing industry, and Bean’s words were the Friday night opening act.

His was a meditative poem on cyclical events, on the wisdom of knowing the right tools to choose in a given situation. For many, the tools needed to navigate during the pandemic posed a learning curve, but for the readers of the past two virtual FisherPoets Gathering lineups, the challenges of life at sea provided guidance.

This week, dozens of new and returning poets, Broderick included, have gotten their wish. Astoria’s celebration of “far-flung friends in the fishing industry” — also the title of a collaborative exhibit now on display at Astoria Visual Arts — will return to more than half a dozen downtown venues.

Readings of poetry and prose will again illuminate the dimly lit halls of taprooms and theaters, singers’ circles will gather with wine by the Columbia River and music will play late into the night.

Bean is scheduled to return with opening sets, first at KALA at 5 p.m. Friday and again at the Liberty Theatre at 5 p.m. Saturday, joined by dozens of others. For the most updated FisherPoets Gathering schedule, check www.fisherpoets.org. In the words of Broderick, again both hosting and reading “Well, here we are again.”