“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