Tomas Transtromer To Play Piano at Nobel Ceremony

By Jason Boog 

Swedish poet and Nobel Prize winning poet Tomas Tranströmer is expected to play the piano at the Nobel Prize ceremony.

Tranströmer lost his ability to speak and the use of his right arm after suffering a stroke in 1990. Since then, he has continued to play piano with one hand. According to The Independent, the poet will express himself through the piano. If you would like to write a note to the poet, the Nobel Prize website will let you “post your greetings to the 2011 Nobel Laureate.”

Here’s more from the article: “Swedish musicians have adapted for him compositions designed to be played with one hand. Neil Astley, the poet’s friend and the founding editor of Bloodaxe, Tranströmer’s British publisher, said the Swede often expressed himself through music, and anticipated a performance at the Nobel ceremony.” (Via Publishers Weekly)