Literature Nobel goes to Sweden's best-known poet

Jessica Gow  /  AP

Country: Sweden

Influential works:

- "Windows and Stones"
- "Baltics"
- "The Great Enigma"

Long a favorite to win the award, poet Transtromer is considered one of the most important Scandinavian writers since World War II. His surrealistic works about the mysteries of the human mind have been translated into more than 50 languages and influenced poets around the globe. The Swedish Academy said it recognized him "because, through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality."

Bernd Weissbrod  /  EPA

Country: Romania

Influential works:

- "Nadirs"
- "Oppressive Tango"
- "The Passport"

Herta Mueller is the 12th woman to win the prize. Most of her work is in German, but some have been translated into English French and Spanish. "I think that there is an incredible force in what she writes, she has a very, very unique style," said Peter Englund, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy.

Country: France

Influential works:

- "The Deposition"
- "Desert"
- "Beloved Earth"

Le Clezio has written on several themes incuding insanity, childhood and traveling. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for being an "author of new departures, poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy, explorer of a humanity beyond and below the reigning civilization."

Fred Dufour  /  AFP/Getty Images file

Country: Turkey

Influential works:

- "My Name is Red"
- "Snow"
- "Istanbul: Memories of a City"

Pamuk was the first Turkish person to receive the prize. The Academy cited Pamuk as one "who in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures."

Carl De Souza  /  AFP/Getty Images file

Country: United Kingdom

Influential works:

- "The Dumb Waiter"
- "The Caretaker"
- "The New World Order"

A playwright, screenwriter, actor, director, poet and activist, Pinter was cited by the Academy as one who "forces entry into oppression's closed rooms."

Tiziana Fabi  /  AFP/Getty Images file

Country: South Africa

Influential works:

- "Waiting for the Barbarians"
- "Life and Times of Michael K"
- "Disgrace"

Coetzee was the first author to win the Book Prize twice. Upon winning the Nobel Prize, the Swedish Academy cited Coetzee as one "who in innumerable guises portrays the surprising involvement of the outsider."

Jochen Luebke  /  AFP/Getty Images file

Country: Hungary

Influential works:

- "Fatelessness"
- "Kaddish for a Child Not Born"
- "Liquidation"

Kertesz was a Holocaust concentration camp survivor, and his experiences were the basis for much of his work. He received the Nobel Prize "for writing that upholds the fragile experience of the individual against the barbaric arbitrariness of history."

Vittorio Zunino Celotto  /  Getty Images file

Country: France (born in China)

Influential works:

- "Soul Mountain"
- "Fugitives"
- "One Man's Bible"

Xingjian, a playright and novelist, pioneered absurdist drama in China. The Academy cited Xingjian's "bitter insights and linguistic ingenuity, which have opened new paths for the Chinese novel and drama."

Sean Gallup  /  Getty Images file

Country: Germany

Influential works:

- "The Tin Drum"
- "Cat and Mouse"
- "Dog Years"
- "Crabwalk"

A poet, novelist and playwright, Grass's work was a literary representation of the German experience during the Nazi era. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for his "frolicsome black fables that portray the forgotten face of history."

Filippo Monteforte  /  AFP/Getty Images file

Country: Italy

Influential works:

- "Archangels Don't Play Pinball"
- "Fedayin"
- "Mistero Buffo"

Fo's satire has criticized the Catholic policy on abortion and political corruption. The Academy praised him as one "who emulates the jesters of the Middle Ages in scourging authority and upholding the dignity of the downtrodden."

Filip Miller  /  AP file

Country: Poland

Influential works:

- "Non-required Reading"
- "A Large Number"
- "Poems New and Collected, 1957-1997"

Szymborska's poetry has been translated to Arabic, Hebrew, Japanese and Chinese, in addition to several European languages. The Academy awarded her "for poetry that with ironic precision allows the historical and biological context to come to light."

Afp  /  AFP/Getty Images file

Country: Japan

Influential works:

- "Okinawa Notes"
- "Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids"
- "Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness"

Oe created works that often focused on political issues such as nuclear weapons. The Academy cited him as a writer "who with poetic force creates an imagined world, where life and myth condense to form a disconcerting picture of the human predicament today."

Francois Guillot  /  AFP/Getty Images file

Country: United States

Influential works:

- "Sula"
- "The Bluest Eye"
- "Beloved"

Morrison wrote novels that brought multi-faceted, richly-developed black characters to the forefront of literature. The Academy cited that she, by "visionary force and poetic import, gives life to an essential aspect of American reality."

Tiziana Fabi  /  AFP/Getty Images file

Country: South Africa

Influential works:

- "The Conservationist"
- "Burger's Daughter"
- "July's People"

Gordimer's work dealt with racial issues, and bemoaned the immorality of South African apartheid. The Academy praised her "magnificent epic writing" as being "of very great benefit to humanity."

Afp  /  AFP/Getty Images file

Country: Mexico

Influential works:

- "The Labyrinth of Solitude"
- "Eagle or Sun?"
- "Collected Poems, 1957 - 1987"

Paz wrote poetry influenced by many styles and themes, including surrealism, Marxism, love, spirituality, and particularly, his experiences in India. The Academy noted that his work was "characterized by sensuous intelligence and humanistic integrity."

-  /  AFP/Getty Images file

Country: Egypt

Influential works:

• "Cairo Trilogy"
• "Children of Gebelawi"
• "Midaq Alley"

Mahfouz supported Egypt's peace treaty with Israel in 1978 and ended up on an Islamic fundamentalist "death list". The Academy noted that Mahfouz, "through works rich in nuance ... has formed an Arabian narrative art that applies to all mankind."