Suarez explores poetry that has also been translated into French, Spanish, Catalan, and Galician and transcends cultural barriers. The title of this book takes inspiration from a roadside hotel named Alaska. It is a place where the author would go when she was a child, a building that has been abandoned for more than two decades now. Much has been written about heartbreak and abandonment, but little about the invisible threads that connect us to places. We all have an Alaska within us, a place chained to our memories reminding us of someone we once loved but we do not know where they are now.
Originally from Navarre, Castillo Suarez (1976) is currently one of the most renowned contemporary Basque literature writers and a corresponding member of Euskaltzaindia, the Royal Academy of the Basque Language. In the last few years, she has filled up bookstore shelves with poetry books as well as various volumes of childrenīs literature. Alaska is her latest work.
Itxaso del Olmo is a Spanish translator and author, known for her academic work and literary translations, particularly from Basque to English, with connections to Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and Basque literature, though specific extensive biography details are limited, often appearing in author bios for translated works like Alaska.