Anne Carson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anne Carson
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Carson in 2024
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| Born | Anne Patricia Carson June 21, 1950 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
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| Period | 1979–present |
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| Spouse | Robert Currie |
Anne Patricia Carson (born June 21, 1950) is a Canadian writer. She is known for her poetry, essays, and translations. She also teaches about ancient Greek and Latin literature.
Carson studied at the University of Toronto. Since 1979, she has taught at many universities in Canada and the United States. These include McGill University, University of Michigan, New York University, and Princeton University.
She has published over twenty books. Carson has won many important awards for her writing. These include the Griffin Poetry Prize (twice) and the T. S. Eliot Prize. In 2005, she became a Member of the Order of Canada. This honor recognized her important contributions to Canadian literature.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Anne Carson was born in Toronto, Canada, on June 21, 1950. Her father was a banker, so she grew up in different small towns across Canada.
In high school, a Latin teacher introduced her to the language and culture of Ancient Greece. This teacher even tutored her privately. Carson then went to University of St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto. She left the university twice because she didn't like some of the required courses. For a short time, she explored graphic arts.
Eventually, she returned to the University of Toronto. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1974, her Master of Arts in 1975, and her Ph.D. in 1981. She also spent a year studying Greek language and texts at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.
Anne Carson's Writing Style
Anne Carson is an expert in classical studies, which means she knows a lot about ancient Greek and Roman cultures. She also loves to compare different types of literature, history, and art. In her writing, she combines ideas from many different areas.
She often refers to, updates, and translates ancient Greek and Latin writings. Some of the ancient writers she uses include Sappho, Homer, and Euripides. She is also inspired by more modern writers like Emily Dickinson and Virginia Woolf. Many of her books mix different forms of writing. These can include poetry, essays, stories, and translations.
Famous Works
Carson has written many books. Here are a few of her well-known works:
- Eros the Bittersweet (1986): This was Carson's first book of criticism. It explores the idea of "eros," which is a type of love or desire that can bring both pleasure and pain. The book looks at how desire appears in ancient Greek writings. It helped set the stage for her later works.
- Men in the Off Hours (2000): This book is a mix of different writing styles. It includes short poems, essays in verse, and translations from ancient Greek and Latin. The pieces in this book refer to many different writers, thinkers, and historical figures.
Carson also gave a series of "short talks" as poems at the University of Toronto in 2012. She also wrote a piece called "Jude: The Goat at Midnight" in 2011, based on a part of the Bible.
Awards and Recognition
Anne Carson's work has received a lot of praise. Her first book of poetry, Canicula di Anna (1984), won her first literary prize. Her essay collection, Eros the Bittersweet, became very popular. It was even voted onto the Modern Library Reader's List for the 100 Best Nonfiction books of the 20th century in 1999.
She has won many awards throughout her career:
- The Lannan Literary Award for Poetry in 1996.
- The Pushcart Prize for her poem "Jaget" in 1997.
- A Guggenheim Fellowship in 1998 and a MacArthur Fellowship in 2000. These are prestigious awards that support talented individuals.
- The T. S. Eliot Prize in 2001 for The Beauty of the Husband. She was the first woman to win this award.
- The Griffin Poetry Prize in 2001 for Men in the Off Hours. She won it again in 2014 for Red Doc>, becoming the first poet to win it twice.
- In 2005, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. This is one of Canada's highest honors.
- In 2020, she received the Princess of Asturias Award for Literature. The jury praised her for her intense and intelligent writing.
- In 2021, she won the PEN/Nabokov Award for her outstanding international literature.
Carson has also received honorary degrees from the University of Toronto in 2012 and the University of St Andrews in 2014.
Translations
Anne Carson has translated many ancient Greek plays into English. These include:
- One play by Aeschylus, called Agamemnon.
- Two plays by Sophocles, Antigone and Electra.
- Seven plays by Euripides, such as Alcestis and The Bacchae.
She has also translated the poetry of Sappho.
Her translation of Sophocles' Electra was published in 2001. It was later included in her 2009 book An Oresteia, which won the PEN Award for Poetry in Translation in 2010. An Oresteia was even performed on stage in New York in 2009.
In 2015, a production of Carson's translation of Antigone was performed in Europe and the US. It starred the famous actress Juliette Binoche.
Teaching Career
Carson started teaching Classics at the University of Calgary in 1979. In 1980, she joined Princeton University. She also taught at the 92nd Street Y in New York City.
Later, she moved to Montreal to join McGill University. There, she became the Director of Graduate Studies in Classics. When McGill's Classics Department changed, Carson started spending half of each year as a guest lecturer at other universities. These included the University of Michigan and the University of California, Berkeley.
In 2003, Carson moved to the University of Michigan. She taught Classical Studies, Comparative Literature, and English there until 2009. In 2009, she joined the New York University Creative Writing Program. With her husband, Robert Currie, she teaches a class called "Egocircus" about working together creatively. She has also taught at Cornell University and Stanford University. Since 2014, she has been a visiting writer at Bard College, teaching classical studies and writing.
Carson has said that teaching ancient Greek has been "a total joy" for her.
Personal Life
Anne Carson is a private person and doesn't share much about her personal life. She prefers that people focus on her writing, not her life story. She has said that she uses her life experiences in her work, but only as one set of facts among many.
Carson's first marriage ended in 1980. Some of her writings, like "Kinds of Water" and The Beauty of the Husband, are thought to be inspired by this experience. She has confirmed that her first husband took her notebooks when they divorced, but later returned them.
Her father, Robert, had Alzheimer's disease. Some of her works, such as "The Glass Essay" and "Father's Old Blue Cardigan," explore his mental and physical decline. Her mother, Margaret, passed away in 1997. Carson wrote a special piece called "Appendix to Ordinary Time" for her mother.
Carson's brother, Michael, disappeared from her life in 1978. She wrote about his disappearance in "Water Margins: An Essay on Swimming by My Brother." In 2000, they planned to meet, but he died before they could reconnect. Her book Nox (2010) is a tribute to her brother and is considered her most personal work.
Carson is married to artist Robert Currie. They met while she was teaching at the University of Michigan. She calls him her "collaborator-husband person." They have worked together on book designs and performances. In 2022, Anne Carson and Robert Currie became citizens of Iceland.
In August 2024, Carson shared that she had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
Images for kids
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Carson in 2024
See also
In Spanish: Anne Carson para niños
