American poet Louise Gluck crowned Nobel Literature Prize

American poet Louise Gluck was crowned the 2020 Nobel Literature Prize laureate, according to the Swedish Academy on Thursday.

Gluck was honored "for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal," said the Academy.

Born in 1943 in New York City, Gluck made her debut in 1968 with "Firstborn" and "was soon acclaimed as one of the most prominent poets in American contemporary literature," according to the announcement.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama (R) embraces poet Louise Gluck before awarding her the 2015 National Humanities Medal during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, in Washington, September 22, 2016. /AP

Her poetry is "characterized by a striving for clarity" with focus on childhood and family life, and close relationship with parents and siblings, it said.

The Academy also noted her 2006 collection "Averno," calling it "masterly" and "a visionary interpretation of the myth of Persephone's descent into hell in the captivity of Hades, the god of death."

Gluck has won many major literary awards domestically, including the National Humanities Medal, the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.

American poet Louise Gluck gives a speech at the 2014 National Book Awards in New York City in 2014. /AFP

The 77-year-old poet and essayist, now an adjunct professor of English at Yale University, is receiving a 10 million kronor (more than $1.1 million) prize, which is funded by the Nobel Foundation.

The award comes after several years of controversy and scandals for the world's pre-eminent literary accolade. Sex abuse allegations rocked the Swedish Academy in 2017 and forced it to postpone the 2018 prize – a first in 70 years.

Two laureates were named last year with the 2018 award going to Poland's Olga Tokarczuk and Austrian novelist Peter Handke honored as the 2019 Nobel laureate. Handke's prize unleashed a flood of criticism as the writer is known for supporting Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic in the Balkan wars.

Mats Malm, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, announces the winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in literature, in Stockholm, Sweden, on October 8, 2020. /AP

Gluck would have received the accolade from King Carl XVI Gustaf at a formal ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of the 1896 death of scientist Alfred Nobel who created the prizes in his last will and testament.

The in-person ceremony, however, has been canceled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. It will be replaced with a televised ceremony showing the laureates receiving their awards in their home countries, according to the Academy.

(Cover: An edited photo based on a picture posted on The Nobel Prize's twitter with the announcement.)