2011 Nobel Prize in Literature

The 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Tomas Tranströmer. The prize was announced by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm on 6 October 2011.

The citation

The citation reads: "because, through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality".

The laureate

Tomas Tranströmer was born in 1931 in Stockholm, Sweden.

Why it matters

The Swedish poet, a psychologist by profession, is known for his short, striking poems, which have been translated into more than 60 languages.

The prize

The prize is worth 10 million Swedish kronor. It will be presented at a ceremony in Stockholm on 10 December, the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor of dynamite whose will founded the prizes in 1895.