The smart money is on Tranströmer for the Nobel

The British bookies at Ladbrokes, a London gambling company, are betting 5/1 that Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer will take home the Nobel, according to the Guardian.

Other poets from other nations—Poland's Adam Zagajewski, Syria's Adonis, and Korea's Ko Un—are coming up on Tranströmer from behind, each with an 8/1 chance of victory. Australian poet Les Murray may be the dark horse, with an 11/1 chance.

"We think poetry's star is shining and it deserves the recognition – the poet's time has come," said David Williams at Ladbrokes. "So much of this is politics, and we have looked at the trends and the cycles. [Tranströmer]'s name has been mentioned in this category for quite a few years – it's not quite always the bridesmaid never the bride, but it's just been so long since a poet of his calibre has been recognised that we think the wheel has turned."

Their backing, however, could backfire for poetic candidates: last year Ladbrokes made Israeli novelist Amos Oz its favourite to take the prize and German novelist Herta Müller went on to win; the year before Italian scholar Claudio Magris and Adonis were the frontrunners, and French novelist JMG Le Clézio won.

So don't empty your pockets quite yet.