Nobel Prize for Literature Goes to Tomas Transtromer

Better luck next year, Bob Dylan. Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer was today awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize for literature. The AP calls the 80-year-old a "perennial favorite" to win, and notes that Swedish journalists regularly camp outside his apartment in Stockholm on the big day in anticipation of victory. It finally arrived, due to what the Swedish Academy calls "his condensed, translucent images" through which "he gives us fresh access to reality."

Unfamiliar with Transtromer's poems? Start by picking up one of his most famous works: the 1966 Windows and Stones, in which he depicts themes from his travels, and 1974's Baltics. (More Tomas Transtromer stories.)