Awarding Tomas Tranströmer the Nobel Prize is like his own verse: a clear, smart, striking presentation of what should have been obvious all along. His poetry is innovative but not show-offy, strange but not loopy, and universal but not sappy. Every poet admires him but nobody knows how he does it, and with the Prize they have one more occasion to gaze at Tomas Tranströmer in quiet, happy envy.
Daniel Handler på den San Francisco-baserade litteraturtidskriften The Believer stämmer in i hyllningskören till gårdagens svenske hjälte. Den som vill läsa mer i ämnet bör kolla in hans artiklar under rubriken “What the Swedes read“, där han varje månad dissekerar en bok av en Nobelpristagare. I oktobernumret har turen kommit till den förste afrikanen att få priset (1986) – nigerianske Wole Soyinka och hans Death and the King’s Horseman.
