Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse

novel by Carson

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July 16, 2026

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Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse is a 1998 work by Canadian poet, essayist, translator, and classicist Anne Carson. Inspired by the ancient Greek poet Stesichorus, Carson reimagines the myth of Heracles and Geryon. The story transforms the myth of a triple-bodied monster into a modern narrative exploring unrequited love. The work achieved a broad audience for its unique nature. Carson later wrote a sequel, Red Doc> (2013), which further develops the characters of Heracles and Geryon in mythologically influenced settings.1

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Canadian literature
Poetry and poetics
In Autobiography of Red (1998)—the story of the winged red monster Geryon and his doomed love for Herakles—she draws on the Greek poet Stesichoros, while in The Beauty of the Husband: A Fictional Essay in 29 Tangos (2001) she invokes English poet John Keats. A classics…
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In Autobiography of Red (1998)—the story of the winged red monster Geryon and his doomed love for Herakles—she draws on the Greek poet Stesichoros, while in The Beauty of the Husband: A Fictional Essay in 29 Tangos (2001) she invokes English poet John Keats. A classics…
Read More

Anne Carson
Poetry
In Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse (1998), inspired by the work of the 5th-century-bce Greek poet Stesichorus (Stesichoros), Carson transforms the ancient Greek myth of Heracles (Hercules) and Geryon—in mythology, a triple-bodied red-winged monster the theft of whose cattle is a canonical Labour of…
Read More
In Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse (1998), inspired by the work of the 5th-century-bce Greek poet Stesichorus (Stesichoros), Carson transforms the ancient Greek myth of Heracles (Hercules) and Geryon—in mythology, a triple-bodied red-winged monster the theft of whose cattle is a canonical Labour of…
Read More