Nobel Laureate Anne Carson: 'Perhaps Poetry is More Useful Than Prose Right Now'

Canadian writer Anne Carson, 76, who was named this year's Nobel Prize in Literature laureate, expressed her astonishment when asked about her feelings on winning, saying, "Everyone seems out of their mind."

In an interview with Icelandic public broadcaster RUV immediately after the winner announcement on October 8 local time, Carson shared her disbelief over the Swedish Academy's decision to award her this year's literature prize, saying, "It's crazy. I think they are all crazy."

Carson, a dual citizen who acquired Icelandic citizenship in 2022, heard the news of her Nobel Prize win in Iceland.

She has reportedly spent part of each year in Iceland for about 15 years.

Earlier, a Swedish Academy official also recounted that when Carson was informed of her win, she was in Iceland "listening to the sound of the wind" and "was very surprised."

According to AFP, Carson held onto her hat with her hand during her interview with RUV so it wouldn't blow away in the wind, remarking, "You can't not hear the wind here."

Describing her phone call with the Academy delivering the news as "a rather halting conversation," she confessed to RUV, "They asked standard questions, and I had no answers to give."

Known for her experimental writing that breaks down boundaries between poetry, fiction, essays, translation, and academic scholarship, Carson also told RUV, "Perhaps poetry is more useful than prose right now, because poetry is faster and everyone is impatient."

She added, "Basically, I think poetry is good because it is concise, except for Homer. Homer is not concise."

Carson, a classicist who majored in classics at the University of Toronto in Canada, is acclaimed for her excellence in reinterpreting ancient Greek and Roman literature, mythology, and philosophical themes with a modern sensibility.

Asked whether she expects her readership to grow due to the Nobel Prize, she replied, "The publisher hopes so. There will be stickers on the covers of my books, and stickers help."

The Swedish Academy selected Carson as this year's Nobel Prize in Literature laureate, stating that she "engages in a playful dialogue with the classical tradition, creating new forms for contemporary literature and building a bold and original body of work."

Carson, who confessed to battling Parkinson's disease in 2024, has continued her writing activities until recently without dampening her creative will despite her illness, releasing her poetry collection Wrong Norma the same year.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.