Important personalitiesBack
Tomas Gösta Tranströmer15.4.1931
His poems capture the long Swedish winters, the rhythm of the seasons and the palpable, atmospheric beauty of nature. Tranströmer's work is also characterized by a sense of mystery and wonder underlying the routine of everyday life, a quality which often gives his poems a religious dimension. Indeed, he has been described as a Christian poet.
Tranströmer is acclaimed as one of the most important Scandinavian writers since the Second World War. Critics have praised his poetry for its accessibility, even in translation. His poetry has been translated into over 60 languages. He is the recipient of the 1990 Neustadt International Prize for Literature and the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Early life
Tranströmer was born in Stockholm in 1931 and raised by his mother, a schoolteacher, following her divorce from his father. He received his secondary education at the Södra Latin School in Stockholm, where he began writing poetry. In addition to selected journal publications, his first collection of poems, 17 Poems was published in 1954. He continued his education at Stockholm University, graduating as a psychologist in 1956 with additional studies in history, religion, and literature. Between 1960 and 1966, Tranströmer split his time between working as a psychologist at the Roxtuna center for juvenile offenders and writing poetry.
Poetry
Tranströmer is considered to be one of the "most influential Scandinavian poet[s] of recent decades". Tranströmer has published 15 collected works over his career, which have been translated into over 60 languages. An English translation by Robin Fulton of his entire body of work, New Collected Poems, was published in the UK in 1987 and expanded in 1997. Following the publication of The Great Enigma, Fulton's edition was further expanded into The Great Enigma: New Collected Poems, published in the US in 2006 and as an updated edition of New Collected Poems in the UK in 2011. He published a short autobiography, Minnena ser mig (The Memories see me), in 1993.
During the 1950s, Tranströmer became close friends with poet Robert Bly. The two corresponded frequently, and Bly would translate Tranströmer's poems into English. Bonniers, Tranströmer's publisher, released Air Mail, a work consisting of Tranströmer and Bly's mail, in 2001. The Syrian poet Adunis helped spread Tranströmer's fame in the Arab world, accompanying him on readings.
In the 1970s, other poets accused Tranströmer of being detached from his own age, since he did not deal overtly with social and political issues in his poems and novels. His work, though, lies within and further develops the Modernist and Expressionist/Surrealist language of 20th century poetry; his clear, seemingly simple pictures from everyday life and nature in particular reveals a mystic insight to the universal aspects of the human mind. A poem of his was read at Anna Lindh's memorial service in 2003.
Tranströmer went to Bhopal immediately after the gas tragedy in 1984, and alongside Indian poets such as K. Satchidanandan, took part in a poetry reading session outside.
Tranströmer suffered a stroke in 1990 that left him partially paralyzed and unable to speak; however, he would continue to write and publish poetry through the early 2000s. His latest original work, The Great Enigma, was published in 2004.
Music
Tranströmer has played the piano throughout his life; after his stroke, which paralysed the right side of his body, he taught himself to play only with his left hand. He often said that the playing was a way for him to continue living after the stroke.
Many composers and musicians have worked with his poems. The New European Ensemble commissioned the young Swedish composer Benjamin Staern for a song cycle based on poems from The Grief Gondola. The piece was premièred in 2010 in both the composer's and the poet's presence. Other composers who have worked with Tomas Tranströmer's poems include Jan Garbarek and Sven-David Sandström. In 2011 he was elected honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music for his contribution to music.
Books of poetry
- 17 Poems (17 dikter), Bonniers, 1954
- Secrets on the Way (Hemligheter på vägen), Bonnier, 1958
- The Half-Finished Heaven (Den halvfärdiga himlen), Bonnier, 1962
- Bells and Tracks (Klanger och spår), Bonnier, 1966
- Seeing in the Dark (Mörkerseende), Författarförlaget, 1970
- Paths (Stigar), Författarförlaget, 1973
- Baltics (Östersjöar), Bonnier, 1974
- The Truthbarrier (Sanningsbarriären), Bonnier, 1978
- The Wild Market Square (Det vilda torget) Bonnier, 1983
- For the Living and the Dead (För levande och döda), Bonnier, 1989
- The Sorrow Gondola (Sorgegondolen), Bonnier, 1996
- Prison (Fängelse), Edition Edda, 2001 (from 1959)
- The Great Enigma (Den stora gåtan), Bonnier, 2004
Other
- Memories Look at Me (Minnena ser mig), Bonnier, 1993 - prose memoir
- Air Mail: Brev 1964-1990, Bonnier, 2001 - correspondence with Robert Bly
- Galleriet: Reflected in Vecka nr.II (2007) – an artist book by Modhir Ahmed
Selected books in English translation
- Twenty Poems tr. Robert Bly (Seventies Press, 1970)
- Windows and Stones tr. May Swenson & Leif Sjoberg, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1972
- Baltics tr. Samuel Charters, Oyez, Berkeley, 1975; Oasis Books, 1980
- Selected Poems, translator Robin Fulton, Ardis Publishers, 1981
- Collected Poems, Translator Robin Fulton, Bloodaxe Books, 1987
- Tomas Tranströmer: Selected Poems, 1954–1986, Editor Robert Hass, Publisher Ecco Press, 1987
- Sorrow Gondola: Sorgegondolen tr. Robin Fulton, Dufour Editions, 1994
- New Collected Poems tr. Robin Fulton, Bloodaxe Books, 1997
- Selected Poems Transtromer, Translator May Swenson, Eric Sellin, HarperCollins, 1999
- The Half-Finished Heaven tr. Robert Bly, Graywolf Press, 2001
- The Deleted World tr. Robin Robertson, Enitharmon Press, 2006
- The Great Enigma: New Collected Poems. Translator Robin Fulton. New Directions. 2006
- The Sorrow Gondola tr. Michael McGriff and Mikaela Grassl, Green Integer, 2010
- The Deleted World tr. Robin Robertson, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011
- New Collected Poems tr. Robin Fulton, expanded edition Bloodaxe Books, 2011
Awards and honours
- 1966: Bellmanpriset (Bellmanpriset) (Sweden)
- 1981: Petrarca-Preis (Germany)
- 1990: Neustadt International Prize for Literature (US)
- 1990: Nordic Council Literature Prize, for For the Living and the Dead (Nordic countries)
- 1991: Swedish Academy Nordic Prize (Sweden)
- 1992: Horst Bienek Prize for Poetry (Horst-Bienek-Preis für Lyrik) (Germany)
- 1996: Augustpriset, for Sorgegondolen (Sweden)
- 1998: Jan Smrek Prize (Slovakia)
- 2003: Struga Poetry Evenings Golden Wreath (Macedonia)
- 2007: The Griffin Trust, Lifetime Recognition Award (Griffin Poetry Prize) (Canada)
- 2011: Title of Professor (Swedish: Professors namn), granted by the Cabinet of Sweden (Sweden)
- 2011: Nobel Prize for Literature (Sweden)
Other awards include the Övralid Prize, the Petrarca-Preis in Germany and the Swedish Award from International Poetry Forum.
Nobel Prize in Literature, 2011
Tranströmer was announced as the recipient of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was the 108th winner of the award and the first Swede to win since 1974. Tranströmer had been considered a perennial frontrunner for the award in years past, with reporters waiting near his residence on the day of the announcement in prior years. The Swedish Academy revealed that he had been nominated every single year since 1993.
Tranströmer's wife, Monica, said he had been notified by telephone four minutes before the announcement was made. The Nobel Committee stated that Tranströmer's work received the prize “because, through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality." His wife, Monica, accepted the prize on 10 December 2011.
Permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy Peter Englund said, "He's been writing poetry since 1951 when he made his debut. And has quite a small production, really. He's writing about big questions. He's writing about death, he's writing about history and memory, and nature." Prime Minister of Sweden Fredrik Reinfeldt said he was ”happy and proud” at the news of Tranströmer's achievement. Meanwhile, international response to the award has been mixed. The prize announcement led to the immediate reissuing of at least two volumes of Tranströmer's poetry.
