Transtromer, more than meets the eye.

• Author: Moynihan, Michael
• Position: Briefly Noted - Brief article

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer, a hometown favorite with a mantel's worth of Scandinavian literary prizes, had been on critics' Nobel Prize short lists for almost two decades. In October he finally won.

Transtromer's beautiful, dream-like poems feel like Sweden: sparse and cold. They are brilliantly evocative of the sounds and feelings of Scandinavia's rugged landscape. As a critic at Stockholm's daily Svenska Dagbladet succinctly said upon announcement of the prize, Transtromer "finds depth in simplicity."

Last year there were grumbles in the Swedish dailies when Mario Vargas...