Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer, an author little-known in the U.S. but widely translated around the world, won the 2011 Nobel Prize in literature.  The Swedish Academy, announcing the 10 million-kronor ($1.4 million) award in Stockholm on Thursday, said it chose the 80-year-old author "because through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality."  Mr. Transtromer was born in Stockholm in 1931 and received a degree from Stockholm University in 1956. He later found work as a psychologist at a youth correctional facility.  Like many poets, Mr. Transtromer began his career in poetry by writing for small journals. He debuted with "17 Poems" in 1954. Other works followed, including 1958's "Secrets Along the Way" and "Windows and Stones: Selected Poems," published in 1966 in Swedish and in 1972 in English.  The academy said that the poet was originally championed in the U.S. in the 1960s by Robert Bly, and that Mr. Transtromer's work has been translated into more than 60 languages.  Many of the author's collections, it added, "are characterized by economy, concreteness and poignant metaphors."  Tomas Transtromer, with his wife Monica, at home in Stockholm after winning the Nobel Prize on Thursday. A 1990 stroke left him unable to speak.  A poem by Tomas Transtromer  The Under Secretary leans forward and draws an X and her ear-drops dangle like swords of Damocles.  As a mottled butterfly is invisible against the ground so the demon merges with the opened newspaper.  A helmet worn by no one has taken power. The mother-turtle flees flying under the water.  From "The Great Enigma: New and Collected Poems," translated by Robin Fulton, published in 2006. Used by permissions of New Directions Publishing.  In 1990, a stroke left Mr. Transtromer largely unable to speak, but he continued to write.  Michael Dirda, who won a 1993 Pulitzer Prize for literary criticism, said: "I'm pleased by this selection because poets need all the help they can get. People don't read enough poetry, and when something like this comes along and identifies an important figure, it helps widen our horizons. It's useful. Poets are important to our lives."  Mr. Transtromer is the first Swede to win the Nobel Prize in literature since Eyvind Johnson and Harry Martinson shared the award in 1974.  "I am happy and proud that Tomas Transtromer has been awarded the Nobel Prize in literature," Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said in a statement. "I know that many have hoped for this for a long time."  Last year's winner was Peru-born novelist Mario Vargas Llosa. The last American winner was Toni Morrison in 1993. Europeans have dominated in recent years.  In the U.S., New Directions Publishing Co., published "The Great Enigma: New Collected Poems" in 2006. A Publishers Weekly review posted on Amazon.com, noted, "The major contemporary poet of Scandinavia, and a perennial Nobel Prize candidate (so rumor has it), Transtromer and his compact, sometimes-grim lyricism have long enjoyed a serious following in the United States."  On Thursday morning, New Directions published more copies of "The Great Enigma: New Collected Poems," according to Jeffrey Yang, who edits the poet at the publishing house.  "His work is deceptively simple," said Mr. Yang. "It's very spare, but the images are strong. It's work that you read slowly, and then want to reread. He taps into profound emotional depths. Some describe it as almost tapping into the subconscious."  Mr. Yang said that while Mr. Transtromer isn't well-known to the U.S. general public, he has a following in poetry circles, and is a familiar name in other countries. The poet's most recent book in the U.S. is "The Sorrow Gondola," published in 2010 by Green Integer.  In an industry crowded with many awards, the Nobel Prize is "the ultimate pat on the back," observed Gerry Howard, executive editor at Doubleday, an imprint at Bertelsmann AG's Random House Inc. "And for the rest of his natural life, he'll be described as the winner of the Nobel Prize."
The 2011 Nobel Prize in literature was awarded Thursday to Tomas Transtromer, a Swedish poet whose surrealistic works about the mysteries of the human mind won him acclaim as one of the most important Scandinavian writers since World War II.