The Azoka is in full swing and as always it is such a riot of activity that it’s a bit hard to keep up. It has been going great: interest in the Center’s books is really high, especially in the Basques in the United States, Basque Explorers in the Pacific Ocean, and Garmendia and the Black Rider. It is also a time to catch up with so many old friends and make new ones. A special treat this year is the presence of Bill Douglass, who is here to celebrate the launch of the Spanish and Basque versions of his Death after Life: Tales of Nevada, published by the Black Rock Institute but distributed in part by the Center. Other highlights for me have been seeing Imanol Murua, my old hiking buddy from his days at UNR and an accomplished journalist, writer, and teacher. Here are a few pics from my first days at the Azoka:

Always love to have people perusing our books, especially when there is a real Basque cowboy in the background!

Outside the Azoka at night. It’s so cool how much of a social event a cultural gathering is here in the Basque Country.
December 8, 2015 at 7:57 am
Daniel Montero,
You are the luckiest editor in the world! To die and go to Durango, eh?
You’ll have “Echevarria” when you get here. But I don’t need it published now! I’m cured. Tell Dr. Douglass the last story I wrote for him. I couldn’t have written any of it without him. He was a bigger influence on me than Robert Laxalt. Douglass & Zulaika are our American bertsolaris—-the poets.
Besarkadez,
Gretchen