Tomas Tranströmer quotes

Tomas Tranströmer was a renowned Swedish poet and translator, celebrated for his evocative and imaginative verse. His work explored themes such as nature, existential reflection, and the mysteries of the human mind. He became one of the most influential Scandinavian writers of the 20th century and received the Nobel Prize in Literature. Here are 15 of his quotes:

I was, however, more interested in steam engines than in electric ones. In other words, I was more romantic than technical. (Tomas Tranströmer)
We always feel younger than we are. I carry inside myself my earlier faces, as a tree contains its rings. The sum of them is me. The mirror sees only my latest face, while I know all my previous ones. View quote
Tomas Tranströmer
A person shows himself for an instant as in a photograph but clearer and in the background something which is bigger than his shadow. View quote
Tomas Tranströmer
I am still the place where creation does some work on itself. View quote
Tomas Tranströmer
The scientific method I was closest to was the Linnaean: discover, collect, examine. View quote
Tomas Tranströmer
My total experience of school was mixed, with more darkness than light. Just as my image of society has become. View quote
Tomas Tranströmer
As when you were a child and some tremendous hurt Was pulled over your head like a sack- Glints of sunshine through the mesh And the hum of the cherry trees. But it doesn't help, the great hurt Covers head and torso and knees And though you are able to move sometimes Spring brings no happiness. Yes, shimmering wool cap, pull it down over your face Stare through the mesh. Out on the bay, the rings of water multiply soundlessly Green leaves darken the earth. View quote
Tomas Tranströmer
I walk slowly into myself, through a forest of empty suits of armor. View quote
Tomas Tranströmer
It's always so early in here, before the crossroads, before the irrevocable choices. Thank you for this life! Still I miss the alternatives. The sketches, all of them, want to become real. View quote
Tomas Tranströmer
Above ground, in tropical flood, earth's greenery stands with lifted arms, as if listening to the beat of invisible pistons. View quote
Tomas Tranströmer
Sometimes my life opened its eyes in the dark. A feeling as if crowds drew through the streets in blindness and anxiety on the way towards a miracle, while I invisibly remain standing. (Tomas Tranströmer)
Every abstract picture of the world is as impossible as a blueprint of a storm. Don't be ashamed because you're human: be proud! Inside you, vaults behind vaults open endlessly. You will never be finished, and that's as it should be. View quote
Tomas Tranströmer
A ship's engine far away on the water expands the summer-night horizon. Both joy and sorrow swell in the dew's magnifying glass. Without really knowing, we divine; our life has a sister ship, following quietly another route. While the sun blazes behind the islands. View quote
Tomas Tranströmer
The language marches in step with the executioners. Therefore we must get a new language. View quote
Tomas Tranströmer
I am carried in my shadow like a violin in its black case. View quote
Tomas Tranströmer