Anne Carson wins Nobel Prize in literature for blending myth and modern poetry

International

WHERE ancient Greek myths meet modern poetry, Anne Carson has carved out a distinctive place in contemporary literature.

The Canadian writer and classicist has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature for her boundary-defying body of work.

The Swedish Academy announced the award Thursday in Stockholm, recognizing Carson, 76, for what the Nobel committee called a “bold and inventive oeuvre.” The prize carries an award of 12 million Swedish kronor ($1.2 million).

Carson’s writing combines poetry, prose, essays and classical scholarship, challenging conventional literary forms. The committee praised her “playful dialogue with the classical tradition,” which it said has created new forms for contemporary literature.

Anders Olsson, chairman of the Nobel Committee for Literature, said Carson’s work brings together a scholar’s attention to language and a poet’s pursuit of new meaning.

Her 1998 book, Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse, exemplifies that approach. Inspired by the Greek poet Stesichorus, the work reimagines the myth of Geryon, a winged monster killed by Heracles, also known as Hercules. Carson recasts Geryon as a vulnerable figure who experiences abuse and falls in love with Heracles, departing from the traditional heroic narrative.

According to a CNN report, Carson was in Iceland, “listening to the wind,” when she learned she had won, according to Swedish Academy permanent secretary Ingrid Carlberg. She said Carson was surprised but happy to receive the news.

Carson studied classics at the University of Toronto, where she earned her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees, and received a diploma from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. She published her first poetry collection, Short Talks, at 42 before gaining wider recognition with Autobiography of Red.

In 2001, she became the first woman to win the T.S. Eliot Prize for The Beauty of the Husband, which explores the breakdown of a marriage. Her 2010 work Nox reflects on the life and death of her estranged brother through photographs, letters and other materials arranged in an accordion-fold format.

Carson has also translated classical texts and collaborated with visual artists, choreographers, and opera and theater directors. Olsson said her cross-disciplinary work demonstrates her freedom from conventional literary expectations.

She is the 19th woman among 122 Nobel literature laureates. Last year’s prize went to Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, while South Korean writer Han Kang won in 2024.

The literature award follows this week’s prizes in medicine, physics and chemistry. The Nobel Peace Prize is scheduled for Friday, with the economics prize to be announced October 12.(MyTVCebu)