VOA慢速英语--美国诗人路易丝·格鲁克获得2020年诺贝尔文学奖

American poet Louise Glück has won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature.

The Stockholm-based Swedish Academy, which names the Literature Prize committee, announced the winner on Thursday.

The Academy praised Glück's "unmistakable poetic¹ voice, that with austere² beauty makes individual existence universal."

Glück's works are known for exploring personal loss and tragedy, especially in family life. She also draws on her own experiences, as well as subjects related to modern life and nature.

The Academy's permanent secretary Mats Malm said he had spoken to Glück just before making the public announcement.

"The message came as a surprise, but a welcome one as far as I could tell," Malm told reporters.

The 77-year-old Glück is a professor of English at Yale University. She had no immediate³ public comment.

Glück joins a handful of American poets who have received the Nobel Prize in Literature. The last American to win was musician Bob Dylan in 2016.

Glück is also one of the few women honored with the literature prize. She is the fourth woman to receive the award since 2010. Only 16 women have won the Literature Prize since the Nobel awards began in 1901.

The work that first brought Glück wide attention was a collection of poems called "Firstborn," published in 1968. From there, she soon became recognized "as one of the most prominent poets in American contemporary literature," the Nobel literature committee said.

Anders Olsson is chairman of the literature committee. He described Glück's voice as "candid⁴ and uncompromising," a signal that "this poet wants to be understood." But her writing is also "full of humor and biting wit," Olsson said.

Drawing comparisons with other writers, the committee said Glück was like 19th-century American poet Emily Dickinson, in her "severity and unwillingness⁵ to accept simple tenets of faith"

Jonathan Galassi is president of Glück's publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux. He said in a statement he was sure the Nobel award would bring her works "to many, many new readers."

Glück's poetry collections include "Descending⁶ Figure," "Ararat" and "The Triumph of Achilles," which was published in 1985 and won the National Book Critics Circle Award. Glück was also awarded an American Pulitzer Prize for poetry and was named Poet Laureate of the United States in 2003.

In 2015, President Barack Obama honored Glück with the National Medal of Arts and Humanities. In giving the award, Obama said her poems were able to capture "the quiet drama of nature and the quiet emotions of everyday people."

Words in This Story

austere – adj. very simple, with only the things that are truly necessary

prominent – adj. very well known and important

contemporary – adj. existing or happening now

candid – adj. honest and telling the truth, especially about something difficult or painful

wit – n. the ability to use words in a smart and humorous way

tenet – n. one of the principles on which a belief or theory is based

drama – n. intense social occurrences in life or film

1 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

2 austere   

adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的

参考例句：

• His way of life is rather austere.他的生活方式相当简朴。
• The room was furnished in austere style.这间屋子的陈设都很简单朴素。

3 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

4 candid   

adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的

参考例句：

• I cannot but hope the candid reader will give some allowance for it.我只有希望公正的读者多少包涵一些。
• He is quite candid with his friends.他对朋友相当坦诚。

5 unwillingness   

n. 不愿意，不情愿

参考例句：

• Her unwillingness to answer questions undermined the strength of her position. 她不愿回答问题，这不利于她所处的形势。
• His apparent unwillingness would disappear if we paid him enough. 如果我们付足了钱，他露出的那副不乐意的神情就会消失。

6 descending   

n. 下行 adj. 下降的

参考例句：

• The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
• The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置，然后再下山。