2011 Nobel Prize for Literature Taken Home by Tomas Transtromer

Tomas Transtromer, an 80-year-old Swedish poet, suffered a severe stroke 20 years ago that left him with difficulties speaking and moving, but as indicated by this honor, his mind remains sharp. His poems explore the mysteries of the human mind. He has been called the most notable Scandinavian literary force since World War II.

This marks the first time since 1974 that a Swede has taken home the 10-million Swedish crowns or about 750-million Chilean pesos. His nickname in Sweden, the 'buzzard poet,’ comes from his chosen themes of nature, isolation and identity and his tendency to look at the world from above.

Two Chileans have taken home the literary award: Gabriela Mistral in 1945 and Pablo Neruda in 1971. Neruda still claims the number one spot as the poet most translated into English, but Transtromer is right behind him. 

Dave Bonta, a magazine editor, compared the Neruda and Transtromer in a blog post on Via Negitiva.

He wrote:

“Neruda sometimes wrote as much in one year as Tranströmer has written in a lifetime! The worldviews of the two poets also differ tremendously: contrast Neruda’s hatred of religion with Tranströmer’s great (albeit reticent) respect for spiritual experience. But one thing their poetry does have in common is a rich vocabulary of images from the natural world… Both men spent part of their lives on islands, which they seemed to regard as their truest homes — Isla Negra for Neruda, and Runmarö for Tranströmer.”

Here is a list of the Noble Prize winners of the past ten years and why they won:

TOMAS TRANSTRÖMER because, through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality.

MARIO VARGAS LLOSA for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat.

HERTA MÜLLER who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed.

JEAN-MARIE GUSTAVE LE CLÉZIO author of new departures, poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy, explorer of a humanity beyond and below the reigning civilization.

DORIS LESSING that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny.

ORHAN PAMUK who in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures.

HAROLD PINTER who in his plays uncovers the precipice under everyday prattle and forces entry into oppression's closed rooms.

ELFRIEDE JELINEK for her musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that with extraordinary linguistic zeal reveal the absurdity of society's clich s and their subjugating power

JOHN MAXWELL COETZEE who in innumerable guises portrays the surprising involvement of the outsider

IMRE KERTÉSZ for writing that upholds the fragile experience of the individual against the barbaric arbitrariness of history

V. S. NAIPAUL for having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories.

We have a plan to spread the word of the provinces to the world. The number of stories published outside of Chile highlighting the rich culture and diversity of the regions are few and far between. By writing in English, we aim to change that. We strive to foster a deeper cultural understanding for English speakers in Chile and offer more content to English-speaking Chileans.