Tomas Tranströmer Explained

Tomas Tranströmer
Birth Name:Tomas Gösta Tranströmer
Birth Date:15 April 1931
Birth Place:Stockholm, Sweden
Death Place:Stockholm, Sweden
Alma Mater:Stockholm University
Period:1954–2015
Spouse:Monika Bladh
Notableworks:

Tomas Gösta Tranströmer (in Swedish ˈtʊ̌mːas ˈjœ̂sːta ˈtrâːnˌstrœmːɛr/; 15 April 1931 – 26 March 2015) was a Swedish poet, psychologist and translator.[1] His poems captured 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.[2] He has been described as a Christian poet.[3]

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.[4] He was the recipient of the 1990 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, the 2004 International Nonino Prize, and the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature.[5]

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.[5] [6] 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.[7] Between 1960 and 1966, Tranströmer split his time between working as a psychologist at the Roxtuna centre for juvenile delinquents (sv) and writing poetry.[5] He also worked as a psychologist at the Labor Market Institute in Västerås from 1965 to 1990.[8]

Poetry

Tranströmer is considered to be one of the "most influential Scandinavian poet[s] of recent decades".[5] Tranströmer published 15 collected works over his extensive career, which have been translated into over 60 languages.[5] 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[9] 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.[5] 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.[10]

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.[11]

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.[12]

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.[6] [13] [14] [15]

Tranströmer's daughter Emma is a concert singer. In 2011 she released the album Dagsmeja, containing songs based on Tranströmer's poems.[16]

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.[17]

Death

Tranströmer died in Stockholm on 26 March 2015 at 83.[18]

List of works

Books of poetry
Other

Translations of his work

in English
in other languages

Awards and honours

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

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/tomas-transtromer-ar-dod Tomas Tranströmer är död.
  2. News: Straight into the Invisible: A Swedish Poet's Explorations . Stephan . Salisbury . The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1987 . 20 October 2011.
  3. News: Anchor in the Shadows: Review of The Great Enigma: New Collected Poems . Bill . Coyle . . 2009 . 20 October 2011.
  4. News: Swedish Poet Wins Nobel Prize for Literature . Julie . Bosman . . 6 October 2011 . 6 October 2011.
  5. Web site: The Nobel Prize in Literature 2011 – Press Release . Nobelprize.org . 6 October 2011.
  6. News: Nobel prize for literature goes to Tomas Tranströmer . Richard . Lea . Alison . Flood . . 6 October 2011 . 6 October 2011.
  7. News: Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer wins Nobel literature prize for 'condensed, translucent' works . https://web.archive.org/web/20111006154906/http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/swedish-poet-tomas-transtromer-wins-nobel-literature-prize/2011/10/06/gIQAJ9YiPL_story.html . dead . 6 October 2011 . Associated Press . 6 October 2011 . 6 October 2011 .
  8. Web site: Tomas Tranströmer Biographical. nobelprize.org. 1 March 2022.
  9. News: New Collected Poems by Tomas Tranströmer – review . Paul . Batchelor . . 17 June 2011 . 6 October 2011.
  10. News: Adonis: Transtromer is deeply rooted in the land of poetry . . 6 October 2011 . 6 October 2011 .
  11. News: Swedish poet Transtroemer wins Nobel Literature Prize . . 6 October 2011 . 6 October 2011.
  12. News: Nobel laureate has an India connection . https://archive.today/20120714191026/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-10-07/india/30257336_1_swedish-poet-tomas-transtromer-nobel-laureate-nobel-prize . dead . 14 July 2012 . . 7 October 2011 . 7 October 2011 .
  13. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2011/11/tomas-transtromer-plays-piano-in-new-short-doc-on-new-official-website/ Poetry Foundation "Tomas Tranströmer Plays Piano in New Short Doc on New Official Website" 1 November 2011
  14. Web site: Tomas Tranströmer « Tomas Tranströmer. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120118063712/http://tomastranstromer.net/music/audio/ . 18 January 2012 .
  15. [Jean-Pierre Thiollet]
  16. News: Tomas Tranströmer : från vaggan till priset . Dagens Nyheter . 7 October 2011 . 66–67.
  17. https://www.svenskmusik.org/en/search?search-text=Transtr%C3%B6mer Swedish Music Information Centre
  18. News: Brown. Andrew. Swedish Nobel laureate Tomas Tranströmer dies aged 83. 28 March 2015. The Guardian. 26 March 2015.
  19. Web site: 20 Poems by Tomas Transtromer " The Owls . Owlsmag.wordpress.com . 14 July 2011 . 9 October 2011.
  20. https://books.google.com/books?id=2xD9LWBmWHcC&q=Tomas+Transtr%C3%B6mer++Penguin+Books Excerpts on Google Books
  21. Web site: 1990 Neustadt International Prize for Literature Laureate Tomas Tranströmer. World Literature Today. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20111127035001/http://www.ou.edu/worldlit/neustadt/1990-tomas-transtromer.html. 27 November 2011.
  22. Web site: The Cabinet awards the title of professor to poet Tomas Tranströmer 7 april 2011(in Swedish) . sv . Regeringen.se . 7 April 2011 . 9 October 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111017104929/http://regeringen.se/sb/d/14087/a/165866 . 17 October 2011.
  23. Web site: Minister for Culture congratulates Tomas Tranströmer on Nobel Prize in Literature . Sweden.gov.se . 7 October 2011 . 9 October 2011.

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