Anne Carson wins Nobel Prize in Literature; Princeton, which denied her tenure, congratulates her

The Swedish Academy has awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature to Anne Carson, a Canadian poet and essayist. The announcement came on Thursday, according to France 24 and The New York Times.

The New York Times reports that Princeton University posted a message congratulating Carson. She taught there in the 1980s, and the university denied her tenure, the Times says. Social media users mocked the message, according to the Times.

Carson is 76 and was born in Toronto, per PBS NewsHour and France 24. France 24 also describes her as a translator.

The Guardian reports that the academy called her body of work "bold and inventive." It said she had created new forms for contemporary literature through a playful exchange with classical tradition. Al Jazeera also reports the academy's "bold and inventive" description.

Her writing often crosses the lines between poetry, essay, fiction and scholarship, according to PBS, the BBC and France 24. PBS and France 24 say she draws on themes and stories from ancient Greek and Roman literature. The Guardian lists Autobiography of Red among her genre-crossing works.