Anne Carson is the winner of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature. But who is she? Here is what you need to know.

Carson, 76, is a Canadian poet, essayist, and classicist. She was born in Toronto in 1950. She studied ancient Greek and Latin, and she has taught at top universities in the US and Canada.

She is famous for mixing forms. Her books blend poetry, essays, and translations of old Greek texts. Her 1998 book “Autobiography of Red” retold a Greek myth as a modern novel in verse. It became a classic.

Other famous works include “Eros the Bittersweet,” “The Beauty of the Husband,” and “Nox.” She has also translated the ancient poet Sappho.

The Nobel committee praised her “bold and inventive oeuvre.” It said she created “new forms for contemporary literature” through “playful dialogue with the classical tradition.”

She will receive 12 million Swedish kronor, about $1.2 million. She was in Iceland “listening to the wind” when she got the call.