The poetry of Tomas Tranströmer

Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer, who was on Thursday named the 2011 Nobel Literature Prize laureate, has published a relatively small body of work, often addressing themes of death, history and nature.

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Here is an English translation of a short poem entitled "National Insecurity", followed by a brief bibliography:

"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."

Source: "New and Collected Poems by Tomas Transtroemer", translated by Robin Fulton. Published in 1997 by Bloodaxe Books and published online by the Poetry Foundation.

Some works by Tomas Tranströmer:

In his native Swedish:
- 1954: "17 dikter" (Seventeen Poems);
- 1962: "Hemligheter på vägen" (The Half-Finished Heaven);
- 1966: "Klanger och spår" (Windows and Stones);
- 1974: "Östersjöar" (Baltics);
- 1996: "Sorgegondolen" (The Sorrow Gondola);
- 2004: "Den stora gåtan" (The Great Enigma).

In English:
- 1970: "Twenty Poems", translated by Robert Bly;
- 1972: "Windows and Stones", translated by May Swenson with Leif Sjöberg;
- 1975: "Baltics", translated by Samuel Charters;
- 2001: "The Half-Finished Heaven: The Best Poems of Tomas Tranströmer",
chosen and translated by Robert Bly;
- 2006: "The Great Enigma: New Collected Poems", translated by Robin Fulton.
- 2010: "The Sorrow Gondola", translated by Michael McGriff and Mikaela
Grassi.