The Palace of the Snow Queen: Winter Travels in Lapland and Spmi

(Paperback)

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An exploration of the winter wonders and entangled histories of Scandinavias northernmost landscapesnow back in print with a new afterword by the author

After many years of travel in the Nordic countriesusually preferring to visit during the warmer monthsBarbara Sjoholm found herself drawn to Lapland and Spmi one winter just as mrketid, the dark time, set in. What ensued was a wide-ranging journey that eventually spanned three winters, captivatingly recounted in The Palace of the Snow Queen.

From observing the annual construction of the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjrvi, Sweden, to crossing the storied Finnmark Plateau in Norway, to attending a Smi film festival in Finland, Sjoholm dives deep into the rich traditions and vibrant creative communities of the North. She writes of past travelers to Lapland and contemporary tourists in Spmi, as well as of her encounters with Indigenous reindeer herders, activists, and change-makers. Her new afterword bears witness to the perseverance of the Smi in the face of tourism, development, and climate change.

Written with keen insight and humor, The Palace of the Snow Queen is a vivid account of Sjoholms adventures and a timely investigation of how ice and snow shape our imaginations and create a vision that continues to draw visitors to the North.

Author Bio

Barbara Sjoholm is a writer and translator of Danish and Norwegian literature. Her translations include By the Fire: Sami Folktales and Legends (Minnesota, 2019), and she is author of Black Fox: A Life of Emilie Demant Hatt, Artist and Ethnographer and From Lapland to Spmi: Collecting and Returning Smi Craft and Culture (Minnesota, 2022). She lives on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.