The Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2011, died in Stockholm on Thursday at 83 years of age. He had lost the power of speech following a stroke in 1990.
However, he continued to write poetry, completing at least five new works, including his memoirs. His physical incapacity did not hinder him from playing the piano with his left hand. Indeed, he continued to perform one-handed piano recitals in various European venues.
Born in 1931 in Stockholm to a school-teacher mother and journalist father, Tranströmer spent childhood summers on Runmarö Island in the Stockholm archipelago. These holidays fed later poems and the nostalgic spirit which informed his 1993 memoir Minnena ser mig (The Memories See Me).
He studied literary history, history of religion and psychology at Stockholm University. The aspirant poet joined the staff of the Institution for Psychometrics at Stockholm University in 1957. In the 1960s, Tranströmer worked as a psychologist at a youth correctional facility. He spent most of his working life in psychiatry.
Tranströmer was also a highly-respected, entomologist and literary translator. His work is translated into over 60 languages. He was the ninth Swedish winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
A collection entitled Inspired Notes, which features translations into English from the original Swedish by Irish poet John F Deane, appeared in 2011 from Dedalus Press.
