Swede wins Nobel Literature Prize

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6 October 2011 Last updated at 13:06 GMT Transtroemer is Scandinavia's best-known living poet Swedish poet Tomas Transtroemer has been awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize for Literature.

The Royal Swedish Academy named him the recipient "because, through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality".

The 80-year-old is the 108th recipient of the prestigious prize, given last year to Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa.

Presented by the Nobel Foundation, the award - only given to living writers - is worth 10 million kronor (£944,246).

A trained psychologist, Transtroemer suffered a stroke in 1990 that affected his ability to talk.

'Mystical'

His poems - described by Publishers Weekly as "mystical, versatile and sad" - have been translated into more than 50 languages.

English translations were largely handled by American poet Robert Bly, a personal friend, and Scottish poet Robin Fulton.

Fulton, said Transtroemer would be remembered for "his very sharp imagery that translates readily, telling metaphors and a sense of surprise".

"You don't feel quite the same after you've read it as you did before," he added.

Fulton first began working with Transtroemer in the early 1970s, and told the BBC: "Some of the Swedish I've learnt was learnt in the process of translating Tomas.

"You have to plunge in somewhere. When you're in the mood it's good until someone points out the mistakes you've made."

Tipped as a potential Nobel prize winner for many years, Transtroemer is the eighth European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in the last 10 years.

He is the first Swede to receive the prize since authors Eyvind Johnson and Harry Martinson shared it in 1974.

Born in April 1931 in Stockholm, Transtroemer graduated in psychology in 1956 and later worked in an institution for juvenile offenders.

His first collection of poetry, Seventeen Poems, was published when he was 23.

In 1966 he received the Bellman prize, one of many accolades he has won over his long career.

In 2003 one of his poems was read at the memorial service of Anna Lindh, the murdered Swedish foreign minister.

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A Nobel Prize for Bob Dylan? Some Would Bet On It

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Bob Dylan as a Nobel Prize winner likely isn't a common conversation in mainstream America.

But there is no questioning the singer's impact on pop culture, from the 1960s until now. And that is what has given the Nobel Prize for Literature an interesting option in the discussions leading up to the Thursday announcement of the winner.

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The Guardian reports a sudden surge on betting for Dylan— and this isn't his first nomination, mind you. The Ladbrokes gambling company has him as the fourth favorite to win the award, with his chances now improving to 10/1. Dylan's lifetime of lyrical work has already started to gain international attention — just look at his Pulitzer Prize Special Citation and Award from 2008 and the nomination this summer for the Neustadt International Prize for Literature.

While still trailing Syrian poet Adonis, Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer and Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami as favorites for the Nobel, just being in the same conversation as them gives pop culture purists hope that words that resonate with the common man can compete with those not as well known, even in the academic world. How many of you have a working knowledge of the literary writing of the three other names in this paragraph, but could happily recite some Dylan lyrics?

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Tim Newcomb is a contributor for TIME. Find him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb. You can also continue the discussion on TIME's Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.

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Weapons prize for Somali children

  An al-Shabab official urged the children to use their guns to defend Islam A radio station run by Somalia's al-Shabab Islamist group has awarded weapons to children who won a Koran-reciting and general knowledge contest.
Andulus radio, based near Mogadishu, gave the group which won first prize in the Ramadan competition an AK-47 rifle and the equivalent of $700 (£450).
The second prize-winners received an AK-47 and $500, while the third prize was two hand grenades and $400.
Al-Shabab, linked to al-Qaeda, controls much of southern and central Somalia.
It recently withdrew from the capital, Mogadishu, where the UN-backed government is in charge.
Four children, aged 10-17, were chosen to represent each district in the competition held during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ended in August.
"Youths should use one hand for education and the other for a gun to defend Islam," senior al-Shabab official Mukhtar Robow told the prize-giving ceremony in Elasha, 20km (12 miles) from Mogadishu.
The winners were also given religious books.
The BBC's Mohamed Moalimu in Mogadishu says this is the third year the contest has been held.
In previous years, when the competition was organised in the southern port of Kismayo, the first prize included an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade launcher).
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Al-Shabab is restricting access to many international aid groups, saying they have a political agenda and are exaggerating the scale of the drought.

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