'Bold and inventive' Canadian poet Anne Carson wins Nobel Literature Prize

Canadian poet, essayist, and translator Anne Carson has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Literature.

Carson, 76, is celebrated for works that often cross the boundaries between poetry, fiction, and scholarship.

The Nobel Prize committee said they had selected her 'for her bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature'.

Carson responded by joking that the judges were 'crazy' for honouring her.

She is currently staying in Iceland, where she was informed of the news by Ingrid Carlberg, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy.

Carlberg said Carson was taken by surprise but very happy, and that she could hear the happiness in her voice.

Born in Toronto in 1950, Carson lives in Michigan and has also held Icelandic citizenship since 2022.

Anders Olsson, chairman of the Swedish Academy's Nobel committee for Literature, praised the way Carson has 'broken away from lyrical poetry bound to the narrative self and inspired new forms of contemporary literature'.

Carson's works feature 'wit, imagination, and a style entirely her own,' according to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Carney wrote on social media that Carson's win was 'an extraordinary achievement and a proud moment for Canada'.