Nurturing Nobel Winners

On Saturday, the Nobel Prize will be awarded to one of Sweden's most beloved poets. Tomas Tranströmer has been with Albert Bonniers Förlag since his 1954 debut, 17 Poems. According to Eva Bonnier, his publisher for the past 20 years, he was an accomplished poet from the beginning.

Eva Bonnier wastes no time getting down to the issue of the relationship between publisher and author. A good relationship between a publisher and an author guarantees that the author will stay with the publisher, she says. In this case, the conditions were a bit special, due to Tranströmer's difficulties speaking - the result of a stroke he suffered 20 years ago. Communication has been via Tranströmer's wife, Monica.

When it comes to the texts, it's never meant much editing, says Eva Bonnier. She says that a publisher can get more involved with prose, but it's harder to have critical opinions about poetry, and maybe particularly in the case of Tomas Tranströmer: "When he submits a set of poems, it's already finished and fantastic. My understanding is he has had poetry fragments, made word pictures, moved words around. He's found a new way to create that works for him."

At Albert Bonniers Förlag, they've long been hoping for Tranströmer to win the Nobel Prize, for as long back as Eva Bonnier can remember. "He's one of the great poets worldwide, he's been translated into over 50 languages," she says. "He's also had advocates among those suggesting Nobel Prize nominees, not just in Sweden. He belonged to the same circles as Derek Walcott, Seamus Heaney and Joseph Brodsky, all Nobel Prizewinners. I understand that Brodsky in particular when he was alive long pushed for Tomas to win the prize."

What does Tranströmer mean for the publishing house?

"Tomas is one of the great poets of our time," says Eva Bonnier. "And he's been a very accessible poet for a lot of people. You can start with any of his books."

Eva Bonnier says she hopes the prize is good for poetry in general, makes it more prominent. "We're talking about a poet a bit in the way we'd talk about a rock star," she says, laughing.