Anne Carson’s Nobel-winning, genre-defying work bridges the gap between ancient Greek literature and modern life
Canadian poet, essayist and translator Anne Carson, 76, has won the Nobel Prize in literature, honored for a body of work that moves across poems, essays, translations and stage collaborations.
Her projects range from a 2015 touring translation of ‘Antigone’ to a 2021 graphic novel version of ‘The Trojan Women’ to reading poetry on a 2025 indie rock album. Her 2002 Sappho translation, ‘If Not, Winter,’ used brackets and white space to mark where ancient papyri were damaged rather than papering over the gaps.
Critics including classicist Emily Wilson have pushed back on parts of her approach, arguing her austerity sometimes flattens distinctions between ancient authors or sidesteps questions of gender and sexuality in Sappho's reception. Her other work, including ‘The Glass Essay’ and ‘Nox,’ draws on Emily Brontë and Catullus respectively.
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