Swedish poet wins Nobel. They kept it local, again.
mainSwedish poet Tomas Transtroemer has won the 2011 Nobel Prize for Literature. He is the eighth Swede in 110 years to walk off with the award, which is judged by the Swedish Academy. Local patriotism? Perish the thought. Sweden is plainly a nation of literary geniuses.
This is Transtroemer at the piano from poetry dispatch. And here’s him reading Madrigal.
Now I’d better start reading him, too.
Let’s put it this way: two first rate authors from Sweden have been awarded the prize: Lagerlöf and Tranströmer. The fact that the rest of them are second rate should not cast a shadow on this year’s choice. Besides, many non-Swedish past prize winners could be regarded as second rate as well. I’d also like to add that Tranströmer is unlikely to walk off with the prize. He had a stroke 20 years ago and has since been confined to a wheelchair.