Anne Carson Wins Nobel Prize in Literature for Innovative Works

Ingrid Carlberg, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, reported that Carson was in Iceland “listening to the wind” when she received the news of her award. Carlberg noted that Carson was quite surprised by the recognition.

Carson's notable works include “Eros the Bittersweet,” which explores the complexities of desire in ancient Greek literature, the verse novel “Autobiography of Red,” and the acclaimed poetry and prose collection “Men in the Off Hours,” which won Canada’s Griffin Prize for Poetry in 2001. Another of her works, “Norma Jeane Baker of Troy,” juxtaposes the lives of Marilyn Monroe and Helen of Troy.

The Swedish Academy praised Carson for her translations of classical Greek literature, which they acknowledged as substantial works in their own right. These translations include “If Not, Winter,” based on Sappho’s fragments, as well as Sophocles’ “Electra” and “Antigone,” and Euripides’ “Bakkhai.” Anders Olsson, chair of the literature committee, described Carson's literary output as embodying the interplay between a philologist's passion for words and a poet's quest for new meaning. He highlighted her ability to juxtapose ancient Greek influences with those of writers like John Keats, Virginia Woolf, and Emily Brontë, creating art that shifts between different genres and forms.

Carson has also incorporated personal experiences into her writing. Her 2010 work “Nox” narrates the grief surrounding the long absence and eventual death of her brother, Michael, and is described by Olsson as “a creation as sculptural as it is literary.” This piece contains an accordion-fold-out of pictures, letters, and texts, along with Carson’s translation of an elegy by the Roman poet Catullus.

Among her recent projects is “Wrong Norma,” a 2024 collection featuring pieces from various publications, such as The Paris Review and The New Yorker, along with Carson's illustrations. In the same year, she discussed her Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in the London Review of Books, expressing her struggles with the physical changes affecting her handwriting, which she finds particularly distressing.

The prize announcement was made by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm. Efforts to contact Carson and her literary agent, Nicole Aragi, for comments have not yet been successful. The monetary award for this year is 12 million Swedish kronor (approximately $1.2 million).

Last year's Nobel Prize in Literature went to Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai for his surreal novels that blend humor with a bleak outlook on the world. The week also saw announcements for other Nobel prizes, including those in medicine and physics, with the peace prize set to be revealed on Friday.