Anne Carson
Anne Carson is a Canadian poet, essayist, translator, and professor, celebrated for her innovative approach to poetry and her deep engagement with ancient Greek literature. Born in Toronto on June 21, 1950, she developed an early fascination with saints' lives that later shifted to classical Greek figures. Carson's academic journey in classics began at the University of Toronto, where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees and pursued a doctoral dissertation on Sappho. Her first book, *Eros the Bittersweet* (1986), explores the theme of eros in Greek poetry.
Carson's works often intertwine personal experiences and historical references, with notable pieces reflecting on familial relationships and her own life, including her acclaimed long poems in *Plainwater* (1995). With over twenty published books, her notable works include *Autobiography of Red* (1998) and *An Oresteia* (2009), both of which showcase her unique blend of translations and original compositions. Throughout her career, she has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Governor General's Award for English-Language Poetry and the Griffin Poetry Prize. Currently, Carson teaches at the University of Michigan and continues to be a significant figure in contemporary literature, recognized for her contributions to both poetry and the study of ancient Greek culture.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Anne Carson
Professor
- Born: June 21, 1950
- Place of Birth: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Biography
Anne Carson was born in Toronto on June 21, 1950. She grew up in several small towns in Ontario, where her father worked as a banker. As a young Irish Catholic girl she was enthralled with The Lives of the Saints, a multivolume account of the lives of Catholic saints, but in her teens she shifted her interest to figures from classical Greek literature. Carson began her study of ancient Greek with a Latin instructor from her high school in Hamilton, Ontario. She went on to study Latin and Greek at the University of Toronto, and during her undergraduate years she also attended commercial art school. After receiving her bachelor’s degree, she stayed in Toronto to complete the work for her master’s degree in classics in 1975. She received a diploma in classics from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland before returning to Toronto to write her doctoral dissertation on Sappho in 1981. This study laid the groundwork for her first book, Eros the Bittersweet: An Essay (1986), an examination of the concept of eros in Greek poetry.
While maintaining that her works are not strictly autobiographical, evidence of her eight-year marriage that ended in 1980 can be found in her acclaimed long poems. In “The Anthropology of Water,” from the collection Plainwater (1995), and in “The Glass Essay,” she movingly portrays the mental and physical decline of her father, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. Plainwater is also dedicated to Ben Sonnenberg, the founding editor of the literary journal Grand Street, who suffered from multiple sclerosis. Carson met Sonnenberg in New York in 1987, and his enthusiasm for her poetry played a vital role in her decision to pursue writing. Her 2001 collection Men in the Off Hours, which was short-listed for the T. S. Eliot Poetry Prize, concludes with an autobiographical tribute to her mother Margaret, who died while Carson was writing the book.
Painting is another significant medium of expression for Carson. Prior to the publication of her first chapbook, Short Talks (1992), she concentrated on her passion for the visual arts. Her poetry for twenty years had been written primarily as a component of mixed media endeavors. The poems in Short Talks, for example, were originally intended as captions for a series of drawings. Because of the greater interest in her poetry, however, she published the poems by themselves. Carson has stated that she thinks of writing as collage. Her Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse (1998) contains distinct sections: an essay on the Greek poet Stesichoros, translated fragments of Stesichoros’ Geryoneis, a lyric sequence based on Geryoneis, a palinode, a mock interview, and two appendices.
Much of Carson's published work—amounting to more than twenty books—either references or is a direct translation of ancient Greek literature. For example, her An Oresteia (2009) is a translation of Aeschylus' Agamemnon, Sophocles' Electra, and Euripides' Orestes. Her 2013 Red Doc> is a sequel to Autobiography in Red and was awarded the 2014 Griffin Poetry Prize. In 2020, Carson was granted the Governor General's Award for English-Language Poetry. In 2021, She won the PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International literature. Carson was named a Royal Society of Literature International Writer in 2022, then named an Honorary President of the Classical Association in 2023. In 2024, Carson published the poetry and prose collection Wrong Norma, which earned recognition as a finalist in the poetry category for the National Book Award.
Carson teaches classics and comparative literature at the University of Michigan and has also taught at the University of Calgary, Princeton University, Emory University, and McGill University. She has been a guest lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, and the California College of Arts and Crafts. Among her honors and awards are the Lannan Award (1996), the Pushcart Prize (1997), a Guggenheim Fellowship (1998), a MacArthur Fellowship (2000), and a PEN Award for Poetry in Translation (2010). While she has received acclaim as a poet, Carson maintains that the study of ancient Greek culture is her primary life’s work. In 2022, Carson was granted Icelandic citizenship.
Bibliography
Anderson, Sam. "The Inscrutable Brilliance of Anne Carson." New York Times. New York Times, 14 Mar. 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
"Anne Carson." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
Carson, Anne. "Ancient Words, Modern Words." Interview by Peter Constantine. World Literature Today 88.1 (2014): 36–37. Print.
Kellaway, Kate. "Wrong Norma by Anne Carson Review - Unjoined-Up Thinking At Its Best." The Guardian, 26 Feb. 2024, www.theguardian.com/books/2024/feb/26/wrong-norma-by-anne-carson-review-unjoined-up-thinking-at-its-best. Accessed 2 Oct. 2024.
Morra, Linda. "Anne Carson." The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada, 8 Sept. 2014. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.