In the days before the Nobel Prize in Literature was set to be awarded, Claire Foster, manager of independent bookstore TYPE Books in Toronto, was hoping this would be Anne Carson's year, the Canadian Press reported. When Foster, a longtime enthusiastic fan of the Canadian poet, learned yesterday that Carson had won, she was delighted.
"My first reaction was absolutely as a reader and I was just so excited and so happy. It's the happiest I could have been for the announcement today, I think," said Foster, adding that Carson "has been a mainstay of our poetry shelves" for years. Foster quickly built a shrine to the Toronto-born writer in the bookstore, displaying a number of her titles in front of the cash register. "We want them to be easily findable and recognizable."
At Toronto's Ben McNally Books, store operator Rupert McNally arrived early to order as many of Carson's works as he could, knowing customers would be clamoring for her books. He added that a Canadian winning the Nobel Prize in Literature is a "huge boon" for the business: "We see a huge jump in sales of her books and books that she's worked on. Even books onto which she's done introductions of other people's works, we'll see a jump in sale on those as well."
Foster said she is excited that the Nobel Prize honor might prompt readers to dig into Carson's catalogue: "She has such a vast backlist and the Nobel is such a great occasion to think backwards, too, in terms of the work that she has been doing for decades. To be able bring in older titles and obviously for us to be able to celebrate the second Canadian ever to win a Nobel is huge.... It's huge for Canadian reading and appreciation, and we feel lucky to hopefully be a beacon that people can come to find her."