The jury of the literature award — one of the eight handed out annually by a foundation named after the heir to the Spanish throne, said Thursday that Carson “has reached a level of intensity and intellectual solvency that place her among the most outstanding writers of the present.”

With her strong background in classical studies and languages, Carson is known for combining poetry, translation, prose and even script-writing into her works. Based loosely on a Greek myth, the 1998 verse novel “Autobiography of Red” is one of her best-known books.

At 69, she has been mentioned as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature in recent years. She currently teaches at the University of Michigan.

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