Tomas Tranströmer

Tomas Gösta Tranströmer (; 15 April 1931 – 26 March 2015) was a Swedish poet, psychologist and translator. His poems captured the long winters in Sweden, 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. 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 praised his poetry for its accessibility, even in translation. His poetry has been translated into over 60 languages. He was the recipient of the 1990 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, the 2004 International Nonino Prize, and the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Life and work

Early life

Tranströmer was born in Stockholm in 1931 and raised by his mother Helmy, a schoolteacher, following her divorce from his father, Gösta Tranströmer, an editor. He received his secondary education at the Södra Latin Gymnasium 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 centre for juvenile delinquents ( sv) and writing poetry. He also worked as a psychologist at the Labor Market Institute in Västerås from 1965 to 1990.

Poetry

Tranströmer is considered to be one of the "most influential Scandinavian poet of recent decades". Tranströmer published 15 collected works over his extensive 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.

By the mid-1960s, Tranströmer became close friends with poet Robert Bly. The two corresponded frequently, and Bly would translate Tranströmer's poems into English. In 2001 Bonniers, Tranströmer's publisher, released ''Air Mail'', a work consisting of Tranströmer's and Bly's day-to-day correspondence on personal, contemporary and literary matters c. 1965–1991 – in a style that vividly conveyed how close friends the two had soon become. Bly also helped arrange readings for his fellow poet in America. The Syrian poet Adunis helped spread Tranströmer's fame in the Arab world, accompanying him on reading tours.

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 the plant.

Tranströmer suffered a stroke in 1990 that left him partially paralyzed and unable to speak; however, he continued to write and publish poetry through the early 2000s. One of his final original volumes of poetry, ''Den stora gåtan'', was published in 2004, and translated into English in 2006 as '' The Great Enigma''.

Music

Tranströmer played the piano throughout his life; after his stroke, which paralyzed 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.

Tranströmer's daughter Emma is a concert singer. In 2011 she released the album ''Dagsmeja'', containing songs based on Tranströmer's poems.

Many composers and musicians have worked with his poems. Among these are Jan Garbarek, Ulf Grahn, Madeleine Isaksson, Margareta Hallin, Lars Edlund, Sven-David Sandström, Jan Sandström and Anders Eliasson.

Death

Tranströmer died in Stockholm on 26 March 2015 at 83.

List of works

;Books of poetry
* '' 17 Poems'' (), 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'' (), 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

Translations of his work

;in English
* ''Twenty Poems'' tr. Robert Bly, Seventies Press, 1970
* ''Night Vision'': ''Mörkerseende'' tr. Robert Bly, London Magazine Editions, 1972, SBN 900626 74 7
* ''Windows and Stones'' tr. May Swenson & Leif Sjoberg, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1972;
* ''Selected Poems'', Tomas Tranströmer, tr. Robin Fulton, (included with Paavo Haavikko), Penguin Modern European Poets, 1974;
* ''Baltics'': ''Östersjöar'', tr. Samuel Charters, Oyez, Berkeley, 1975 ; new edition Tavern Books 2012,
* ''Baltics'': ''Östersjöar'', tr. Robin Fulton, Oasis Books, London, 1980;
* ''Selected Poems'', translator Robin Fulton, Ardis Publishers, 1981,
* ''The Blue House: Prose Poems'', Thunder City Press, 1983
* ''The Wild Market Square'': ''Det vilda torget'' tr. John F. Deane, Dedalus Press, Dublin, 1985;
* ''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, ; Dufour Editions, Incorporated, 1997,
* ''For the Living and the Dead'': , tr. John F. Deane; The Dedalus Press, Dublin, 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, ; Enitharmon Press, 2006,
* ; republished 2011
* ''The Sorrow Gondola'' tr. Michael McGriff and Mikaela Grassl, Green Integer, 2010,
* ''The Deleted World'' tr. Robin Robertson, Farrar, Straus and Giroux USA, Enitharmon Press UK, 2011;
* ''New Collected Poems'' tr. Robin Fulton, expanded edition Bloodaxe Books, 2011,
* ''Inspired Notes'', tr. John F. Deane, Dedalus Press, Dublin, 2011 (combining his 1985 and 1994 translations above);
* ''Bright Scythe: Selected Poems by Tomas Tranströmer'', tr. Patty Crane, Bilingual edition, Sarabande Books, 2015;
* ''The Blue House: Collected Works of Tomas Tranströmer'', tr. Patty Crane, Bilingual edition, Copper Canyon Press, 2023;

;in other languages
* Milan Richter has translated Tranströmer into Czech
* J. Bernlef has translated Tranströmer's entire work of poetry into Dutch.
* Jacques Outin translated them into French.
* Hanns Grössel has translated several works of Tranströmer into German.
* Galit Hasan-Rokem has translated Tranströmer's entire work of poetry into Hebrew.
* Maria Cristina Lombardi translated some works of Tranströmer into Italian.
* Eiko Duke-Soei has translated '' The Sorrow Gondola'' into Japanese.
* Morteza Saghafian has translated Tranströmer's work into Persian.
* Leonard Neuger has translated several of Tranströmer's anthologies into Polish.
* Dan Shafran has translated ''A Page of the Night-Book'' (Nattboksblad) Pagini din cartea nopții: poeme (Polirom, 2003) and '' The Great Enigma'' (Den stora gåtan) Taina cea mare (Polirom, 2005) into Romanian.
* Milan Richter has translated the collected poems of Tranströmer into Slovak (Medzi allegrom a lamentom, 2001)
* Roberto Mascaró has translated Tranströmer's work into Spanish.

Awards and honours

*1966: Bellman Prize (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 (Germany)
*1996: Augustpriset, for ''Sorgegondolen'' (Sweden)
*1998: Jan Smrek Prize (Slovakia)
*2003: Struga Poetry Evenings Golden Wreath (Macedonia)
*2004: International Nonino Prize (Italy)
*2007: The Griffin Trust, Lifetime Recognition Award (Griffin Poetry Prize) (Canada)
*2011: Title of Professor (), granted by the Cabinet of Sweden (Sweden)
*2011: Nobel Prize in Literature (Sweden)

Other awards include the Övralid Prize and the Swedish Award from the International Poetry Forum.

See also

* List of Nobel laureates in Literature

References

External links

The Official Tomas Tranströmer Website
* Petri Liukkonen. "Tomas Tranströmer". ''Books and Writers''

Biography and Poems
on Poets.org
List of Works

Biographical profile on Bloodaxe Books website

Griffin Poetry Prize Lifetime Recognition tribute, including audio and video clips

''Sorrow Gondola'' translated by Patty Crane, with essay by David Wojahn, letter from Jean Valentine, and more
in ''Blackbird'', Spring 2011, Vol. 10, No. 1.
* Translations by Robert Archambeau and Lars-Håkan Svensson.

''Poetry Fix'' video on Tranströmer

The Guardian: Tomas Tranströmer 'surprised' by Nobel prize for literature - video interview

"Wonderful Centipedes: The Poetry of Tomas Tranströmer"
Niklas Schiöler,
Berfrois
', 12 October 2011

Steven Ford Brown. "An Afternoon With Tranströmer In Stockholm", ''Boston Area Small Press and Poetry Scene'', October 15, 2011

"The Blue House" reading by Louise Korthals in Amsterdam, Netherlands, The Official Tomas Tranströmer WebsiteThe Music Says Freedom Exists. A visit to Tomas Tranströmer in Stockholm, February 2015
Video by Louisiana Channel
* including the Nobel Lecture

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transtromer, Tomas
1931 births
2015 deaths
Nobel laureates in Literature
Nordic Council Literature Prize winners
Writers from Stockholm
Health professionals from Stockholm
Stockholm University alumni
Swedish-language poets
Swedish-language writers
Swedish Nobel laureates
Struga Poetry Evenings Golden Wreath laureates
Litteris et Artibus recipients
Swedish male poets
August Prize winners
Haiku poets
20th-century Swedish poets
21st-century Swedish poets
20th-century Swedish translators
21st-century translators
Poets from Stockholm