Poet Tomas Transtromer Reacts to Winning the Nobel Prize for Literature

Posted on October 12, 2011

The Nobel Prize winner for Literature, Tomas Transtromer, spoke to the press about his win. His wife was by his side to translate. He suffered a stroke more than 20 years ago which limits his speech and movement on his right side. But he still plays piano with his left hand and can still write.

He said he was surprised when he heard that he won. His wife explained, saying: "It happened very fast. We thought the winners would be told ahead of the announcement. I think Tomas was called four minutes before the announcement was made. He had a very nice talk to Peter Englund (the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy). He was told the academy's reasons for having awarded him prize."

Reports says that Transtromer is planning on playing the piano at the ceremony to express how he feels about the award. The committee said he was given the award "because, through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality." He is widely regarded as Sweden's greatest living poet. He is also widely regarded as a translator and author. Take a look:

The New York Observer reports that Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins, is rushing to reprint Transtromer's works For the Living and the Dead: a Memoir and Poems and Selected Poems, edited by the poet Robert Hass. The books will be issued within the week and are expected to sell quite well.