"Simple words so close to real life, so accessible in their truth and so comforting in their unpredictable beauty. Truly poetry as we would like it to be. Always." — Herménégilde Chiasson

"Though she may claim to be just arranging lines 'to make sense of debris,' her attention to thought and language is bold, often breathtaking. Her voice is a beam that sings and dazzles, and these are poems to set the heart ablaze." — Sachiko Murakami

"Apologetic for Joy showcases a young poet who embraces the world with a sensual attentiveness and a steadfast lyrical clarity.... Whatever the future holds for this young poet, in Apologetic for Joy her arrangement of lines makes appealingly lucid and graceful sense." — Barb Carey, Toronto Star

"Reading Apologetic for Joy was, for me, like peeling an orange on a hot day and greedily biting into its juicy flesh. Wanting more, I eagerly turned each page to delight in the next surprise. ... a pleasure to read because the poetry remains as artfully loose as the drawings. ... It is literary and a page-turner at the same time." — Tanya Lester, The Malahat Review.

"Hiemstra-van der Horst pens painterly poems that close in poignant observation or tease us with whimsy and absurdity. ... Multitalented, Hiemstra-van der Horst has talent to burn." — Chronicle Herald

"Apologetic for Joy is a master class in painting the quotidian with words, rediscovering delight in daily life while consistently acknowledging the brevity of human existence... Hiemstra-van der Horst directs her words like beams of sunshine through a magnifying glass to illuminate experiences that can all too easily be dismissed as mundane... Hiemstra-van der Horst has wrought some masterful and uplifting poetry, with elegant and beautiful ekphrases, and no apologies should be made if it is found to be a truly joyous work to read." — The Bull Calf