Swedish poet Tomas Transtroemer has been awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize for literature.

The Swedish Academy named him the recipient "because, through his condensed, transluscent images, he gives us fresh access to reality".

The 80-year-old, Scandinavia's best-known living poet, is the 108th recipient of the prestigious prize, given last year to Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa.

Presented by the Nobel Foundation, the award is worth 10 million kronor (?944,246).

Born in Stockholm in 1931, Transtroemer studied at the University of Stockholm and worked as a psychologist at an institution for young offenders.

His first collection of poetry, 17 Dikter (17 Poems, was published in 1954, while he was still at college.

Collections including Hemligheter p? v?gen (1958) and Klangar och sp?r (1966) reflected on his travels in the Balkans, Spain and Africa, while the poems in ?stersj?ar (1974) examine the troubled history of the Baltic region through the conflict between sea and land.

A trained psychologist, Transtroemer suffered a stroke in 1990 which affected his ability to talk.

Much of his work has been translated into English by the American poet Robert Bly, a personal friend.