I am ashamed that until he won the Nobel Prize for literature last week, I had not heard of Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer. After reading the papers this weekend, and enjoying the quotes from him below, I shall be ordering his New Collected Poems (translated into English) from Bloodaxe Books very soon.
He has written:
"Every abstract picture of the world is as impossible as a blueprint of a storm,"
and "Don't be ashamed because you're human: be proud! Inside you, vaults behind vaults open endlessly. You will never be finished, and that's as it should be."
...and this poem:
Tired of all who come with words, words but no language
I went to the snow-covered island.
The wild does not have words.
The unwritten pages spread themselves out in all directions!
I come across the marks of roe-deer’s hooves in the snow.
Language but no words.
If any of the Swedish students have particular favourites from amongst his poems, please do send me a link.
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