The Third Thursday Poetry Open Mic was held at Brian Ohme’s Wenatchee Underground studio. Thirteen people attended, some reading, some just listening, everyone enjoying!
Poetry Reading – February 15, 2024
June 3, 2023 Launch Party for The Shrub-Steppe Poetry Journal
We celebrated at Class With a Glass in Wenatchee. This party brought together poets, their friends and/or family members, and the staff of the Journal for congratulations, readings, a few laughs and some very good food and drink.
Editor of the Journal, Susan Blair, publicly acknowledged the members of her team for once again making The Shrub-Steppe Poetry Journal possible, now in its fifth year.
June 3, 2023 Launch Party
We celebrated the launch of The Shrub-Steppe Poetry Journal, 5th edition, at Class With a Glass in Wenatchee.
From left to right, Ed Stover, Susan Blair, Susan Rae Sampson and Bruce McCammon
Next Poetry Podium on June 24, 2022
Join us on Wednesday, June 24 for another engaging and inspiring hour of poetry.
We meet at Collapse Gallery at 115 S. Wenatchee Ave. in Wenatchee. Chad Yenner generously supports our artistic efforts by allowing us to gather here rent-free! And what could be better than visual art surrounding spoken art?
Read your own work or a favorite poem by someone else. You never know what you will see or hear that will resonate with you. And you may discover a new poet whose work you’d like to read and research.
ART and COMMUNITY , live and in person! As it should be.
Cats and Dogs Reigning – a new print anthology about our beloved feline and canine friends!
Cats and Dogs Reigning is available! We ask for a donation of $5.00 per copy.
If you would like to purchase a copy or copies, please contact Susan Blair at
sfblair61@gmail.com.
We appreciate your support of the poets of Central Washington.
Shrub-Steppe Poetry is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization run entirely by volunteers.
2020 Poetry Journal Reviews
“Truly, there are so many strong voices represented in this Journal…I think poets are more willing than most to share the raw parts of their lives that others wouldn’t even tell friends, much less strangers. But it’s that starkness, told with an unemotional voice, that ironically creates emotion in the reader…Reading The Shrub-Steppe Poetry Journal gave me a glimpse of each poet’s own life experiences, and too, brought up similar memories, emotions or connections from my own past. We’re all not so different when it comes down to it. This is good therapy for what’s going on in the world today!” — Nancy Atkins, Chelan
“Thank you for your work with The Shrub-Steppe Poetry Journal. It’s really cool that you’ve created a place for poets on the sunny side of the mountains.” — Mark Burns, Yakima
“I’ve read the issue twice and there is much to admire…I enjoyed the book very much. I thought of listing my favorites but there were 27 of them. I’m a sucker for good formalism which is so hard to write, but I was charmed by Betty Hartgrave’s “Surprise;” it’s light but nice. The point is I think you all made good editorial choices that show a variety of utterances that work. thanks for all your efforts.” — Joseph Powell, Ellensburg
Pybus Poet-Tree
Have you ever seen a thing as lovely as a Poet-Tree? Come down to Pybus Market in Wenatchee, where you’ll find a tree hung with poems! Write your own or a favorite on one of the index cards provided. Then hang it from a branch for all to see and read. You can use both sides of the index card. Why not include your name (or initials), too, and the town where you live? All are welcome!
Happy New Poetry Podium
New Year! New venue! New time! Join us on Wednesday, January 29, 2020 for our next Poetry Podium at our new location, the Riverside Pub, 538 Riverside Drive in Wenatchee. We’ll start at 5:00 and run till 6:00 or 6:30. Come early, grab a bite or a drink (or both), socialize a bit and get ready for the “soul food” which is poetry.
See you there!
Next Poetry Podium on September 25
The next Shrub-Steppe Poetry Podium will be held on Wednesday, September 25 at Radar Station, 115 S. Wenatchee Ave. in Wenatchee. Doors open at 4:00. We start at about 4:15.
Come enjoy the fun and funky ambience, have a drink and listen to some pretty wonderful poems! Or read some poems – your own or the work of a favorite poet or two. You don’t have to be a poet to attend.
Free! The best price! Culture, art, camaraderie and cool. A great way to spend an hour on a late afternoon.
For more information, contact us.
Poetry & Lavender on July 12
What a lovely evening of POETRY & LAVENDER at The Lavender Boutique in East Wenatchee!
We sampled lavender cheesecake, several types of lavender lemonade (some with the addition of a little vodka!) and pear cider. Several people drew inspiration from the beauty around us to sketch and do water colors, while others of us read some poems.
To learn more about Joseph Downs and his lavender farms, visit http://thelavenderboutique.net.