US poet Louise Glück wins Nobel Prize in literature

American poet and essayist Louise Glück was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday.

Ms Glück, 77, who lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is of Hungarian Jewish heritage.

She was recognised for her “unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal”.

Anders Olsson, chairman of the Nobel Committee, lauded her “oneiric, narrative poetry" which centres on childhood and family life. "Glück seeks the universal, and in this she takes inspiration from myths and classical motifs, present in most of her works," he said.