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garbawarb 12 hours ago [-]
Well deserved. Autobiography of Red is stunning, the fragmentary form gives such mythical weight to every word.
lucius_verus 11 hours ago [-]
Totally agree. Surprised to see this on the front page of HN, but Autobiography of Red absolutely gutted me.
vlaaad 8 hours ago [-]
Never heard of her before, can someone explain the significance? I see that Autobiography of Red is praised for blending different things like translation/novel in verse/essays together, but that doesn't sound like something new? I've read Milorad Pavic's Dictionary of Khazars before, seems like it fits the same description?
saintblasphemer 8 hours ago [-]
She is typically praised for her translations as well as the creative interplay of classical and modern imagery in her works. An aspect I think often overlooked is the relation of her text with the physical media of reading the text. For example Nox which is printed as a single continuous accordion-folded sheet.
purpleflashing 7 hours ago [-]
I wish I could see a nice spoken performance of Autobiography of Red some day, it should be read out loud, imo. Her writing is very physical if that makes sense.
cryzinger 8 hours ago [-]
Among other things, Carson is a famous/prolific translator of Ancient Greek plays (including the ones that probably come to mind when you hear "Ancient Greek plays").
RGS1811 8 hours ago [-]
Why assume that novelty is a criterion for the worth of someone's literary output? Things can tread familiar ground, use familiar forms, and still be remarkable or worthwhile. (Imagine saying to Shakespeare: "Why write a book of love sonnets? Didn't Petrarch already do that?")
That said, I haven't read more than a few pieces by Carson and I'm curious to read more.
vlaaad 8 hours ago [-]
I try to understand what's the criterion, and inferred novelty since the other Nobel prizes seem to be awarded for some novel contributions. As I said, just trying to understand significance.
bell-cot 6 hours ago [-]
As a broad generality, you're right about novelty being a poor criterion.
But in the specific context of the Nobel Prize in Literature... The Prize's official mandate specifies an author who has "in the field of literature, produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction". There's also a "for the greatest benefit to humankind" criteria.
With those ground rules, writing Yet More Books in well-trod genres - but just slightly better than any of the other authors there - really doesn't seem to cut it for the Nobel Prize.
RGS1811 36 minutes ago [-]
I don't see "new" in either of the criteria you quoted. It also doesn't fit with the explicit reasons given for awarding the prize to many past recipients. Sometimes originality is a factor, but in many cases the reason is just judged merit.
Iceland now has two Nobel laureates, or around 0.0005% of the population.
gottorf 6 hours ago [-]
Two out of 122 Prizes in literature. Punching quite above its weight!
_whiteCaps_ 8 hours ago [-]
Is this an AI comment? Anne Carson is Canadian.
bita_nidir 6 hours ago [-]
Icelandic citizen also and Iceland is one of the places she calls home. She was there when she got the news.
_whiteCaps_ 6 hours ago [-]
TIL! Apologies if I was too harsh.
Canadian media doesn't highlight her dual citizenship :)
georgefrowny 7 hours ago [-]
She also has Icelandic citizenship.
hn1rig3rak 12 hours ago [-]
Having worked on a few Greek translation projects, the thing I always come back to with her is how she leaves the gaps in Sappho visible instead of smoothing them over. Brackets on the page. Most translators can't resist filling those in.
saintblasphemer 9 hours ago [-]
For a similar approach I would recommend checking out Guy Davenport's 7 Greeks. His translations of Sappho and Diogenes are commendable.
throwfaraway135 8 hours ago [-]
[flagged]
hiddencost 8 hours ago [-]
Your loss. One of the most beautiful works of literature and short. Is the depiction of gay people that distressing to you? I read books about straights all the time.
listless 8 hours ago [-]
Unfortunately activists have done a fantastic job turning gay into a broad political issue encompassing a lot of ideologies that many people find off-putting. So when you see a plot like this, your first thought is that 1) the author has a self righteous agenda and 2) the award is not deserved but rather given to signal sides in a culture war.
Neither of those things may be true. And that’s tragic because a lot of great work is going to be written off under these pretenses.
lkey 8 hours ago [-]
> your first thought is that
> 1) the author has a self righteous agenda and
> 2) the award is not deserved but rather given to signal sides in a culture war.
This is psychological projection from a debased information environment.
She has been studying classics, writing, and winning awards since at least 1975!
Quote:
Carson is known to be reticent about her private life, and discourages autobiographical readings of her writings.Information about her in publications is often limited to the phrase: "Anne Carson was born in Canada and teaches ancient Greek for a living." While not a confessional poet, her work is considered personal. Carson has said that in her work, she uses her life democratically as just one set of facts among others in the world.
You should be less online so you don't lose your whole self to bottomless cynicism.
listless 4 hours ago [-]
I should clarify that I personally would not write this off. But I understand the thinking a lot of people are using when they do.
purpleflashing 6 hours ago [-]
The Nobel Prize in literature is given for a body of work, not for a specific publication. The book OP quotes does have gay characters but Anne Carson's body of work is hardly about LGBT issues specifically. Writing it off because of one sentence in an antagonistic comment is a bit strange. The Guardian article lists many other quotes of people describing what's compelling about her work.
hylaride 8 hours ago [-]
> Unfortunately activists have done a fantastic job turning gay into a broad political issue encompassing a lot of ideologies that many people find off-putting
This is true of almost everything nowadays. I recoil at almost anything religious for similar reasons, even though I know not everybody that goes to church is a militant anti-abortionist christian nationalist. Nonetheless I will watch `The 10 Commandments` as it's still a very good example of the golden age of Hollywood epics.
miltonlost 8 hours ago [-]
When YOU see a plot like this. And that YOU see this says a lot more about YOU and your preoccupations with another person's sexuality. If you would just be honest and say "i don't like LGBT people", we'd save a lot of time.
throwfaraway135 8 hours ago [-]
I wouldn't call it "distressing", but we are entitled to like some genres and dislike others. Not everything should be for everyone. And generally some genres are over promoted by the big labels and imo have worse quality on average.
RGS1811 8 hours ago [-]
I don't really think poetry can reasonably be said to be a genre that's "over promoted by the big labels".
eradicatethots 8 hours ago [-]
[dead]
eudamoniac 3 hours ago [-]
What are the odds that yet another LGBT diaspora text wins again? I find it kind of hard to believe that this is the best writing this year when 6 of the last 10 Nobels have been LGBQ or ethnic diaspora adjacent.
That said, I haven't read more than a few pieces by Carson and I'm curious to read more.
But in the specific context of the Nobel Prize in Literature... The Prize's official mandate specifies an author who has "in the field of literature, produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction". There's also a "for the greatest benefit to humankind" criteria.
With those ground rules, writing Yet More Books in well-trod genres - but just slightly better than any of the other authors there - really doesn't seem to cut it for the Nobel Prize.
Look at the list here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nobel_laureates_in_Lit...
https://www.metafilter.com/214757/The-2026-Nobel-Prize-in-Li...
Canadian media doesn't highlight her dual citizenship :)
Neither of those things may be true. And that’s tragic because a lot of great work is going to be written off under these pretenses.
> 1) the author has a self righteous agenda and
> 2) the award is not deserved but rather given to signal sides in a culture war.
This is psychological projection from a debased information environment.
She has been studying classics, writing, and winning awards since at least 1975!
Quote: Carson is known to be reticent about her private life, and discourages autobiographical readings of her writings.Information about her in publications is often limited to the phrase: "Anne Carson was born in Canada and teaches ancient Greek for a living." While not a confessional poet, her work is considered personal. Carson has said that in her work, she uses her life democratically as just one set of facts among others in the world.
You should be less online so you don't lose your whole self to bottomless cynicism.
This is true of almost everything nowadays. I recoil at almost anything religious for similar reasons, even though I know not everybody that goes to church is a militant anti-abortionist christian nationalist. Nonetheless I will watch `The 10 Commandments` as it's still a very good example of the golden age of Hollywood epics.