Assistant Professor in Spanish Literature at the University of Amsterdam, Spanish poet Pablo Valdivia is the author of two collections: Respirar bajo el agua (Breathing Underwater, 2008), from which this translation is taken, and La velocidad de la niebla (The Speed of Mist, 2011). In addition to his poetic output Valdivia has published critical work on Federico García Lorca, including the book La vereda indecisa: El viaje hacia la literatura de Federico García Lorca (2010). His latest work is a critical edition of the novel Sefarad by the award-winning Spanish author Antonio Muñoz Molina.