Product Description
Of the nine books of lyrics the ancient Greek poet Sappho is said to have composed, only one poem has survived complete. The rest are fragments. In this miraculous new translation, acclaimed poet and classicist Anne Carson presents all of Sappho’s fragments, in Greek and in English, as if on the ragged scraps of papyrus that preserve them, inviting a thrill of discovery and conjecture that can be described only as electric—or, to use Sappho’s words, as “thin fire . . . racing under skin.” By combining the ancient mysteries of Sappho with the contemporary wizardry of one of our most fearless and original poets, If Not, Winter provides a tantalizing window onto the genius of a woman whose lyric power spans millennia. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

The English is 5 stars, the Greek is 1 star.
Carson's translations are solid and well rendered, her ability to render fragments into something still poetic shows a great gift. The text as it has come down to us and as faithfully transmitted by Carson is a fascinating document for discussing the nature of text/authorship/poetics/meaning.

There is one major flaw, however, the Greek text is very poorly edited. The first glaring error is the failure to correctly print breathing marks. Every breathing is given as a smooth regardless of whether it is actually a rough. For those who don't know Greek it is akin to not printing the letter H for words that start with H so "hat" and "at" would both just be printed as "at." "At the hat shop" would be rendered by Carson as "at the at shop." There is and can be no justification for this error. While it is true that the textual form of Sappho's Greek (as well Plato's, Homer's, and Sophocles') does not included breathing marks, this provides no justification for Carson. If this is done for such reasons as original textual accuracy why are breathing marks, accents, or even spaces printed in the text at all?

This is a major flaw in the Greek text presented.

Sappho offers you the world
In this astonishing translation, Anne Carson in collaboration with Sappho, offers the reader a chance to make decisions in this life based on love. To start there.

This collection offers us a way to accept the challenges of love and love-decisions in this life. To say yes to occasional pain, to feel the beauty everywhere. To know that poetry is the great grain of our life. That the body is the soul.

Anyone interested in love should read these poems slowly and then read them again. Carson's language is powerful and subtle. In a word, lovely. Another: exciting. Isn't this the perfect gift?

Carson's Translation of Sappho
Carson does an amazing job of working with what is really a miniscule measure of poetry. Her text is esentially a few scattered poems an then mroe than one hundred pages of one-line fragments. However, her ability to analyze these fragments is very interesting; she gives them literary and historical context. The book is hardly "enjoyable," but it is certainly insightful.

A Beautiful Collection of Fragments
I love how this collection has been put together - the Greek original on the left and English translation on the right, complete with brackets for the parts that are missing. I read the book in one sitting and keep returning to it as the poetry is very powerful. I recommend this edition to anyone looking for a collection of Sappho's fragments. It also makes a beautiful gift.

A wonderful, thought-provoking gift
I've been meaning to review this for a couple of years now, and I'm just getting to it after having replaced my original, worn, tattered, dogeared, falling apart copy.The fact that my first copy was in that condition speaks much. Carson has given our modern world a gift of unimaginable beauty in her translations of Sappho's fragmented works.By devoting each page to a solitary fragment, and providing the original text along with her translation, the reader is able to step into antiquity and wonder at the power, subtlety, and passion that was Sappho's contribution to human thought.

Think on that a moment.Though some pages only contain a couple of words, there is power in them.Just knowing that Plato, Horace, and Aristotle held her in high esteem, Roman emperors quoted her, and she was counted among the ancient muses, speaks directly to her influence as a lyricist and poet.

There are those few out there who look at the pages of If Not, Winter, and see . . . not much.To them:Please go back.Take another look.It grows on you in a way that is indescribable.

I'm rambling, I know, so here's the deal -- This book captures Sappho in a way that others have not.The fragments stand on their own, allowing the reader's mind to wander and imagine.Carson has allowed the poet to speak, and it's like catching fragments of conversation from someone that has a way more interesting life than you, and you just want to listen and absorb and wonder.I have used this collection in my classroom on a regular basis.I compare it with contemporary poetry (Sappho still more than holds her own, by the way), and as prompts for journal writing.The book has gone home with scores of students, and many more have purchased their own copies.

I rarely give five star reviews.I reserve those for works or products that are truly amazing and impactful -- not perfect, mind you, but a beautiful example of homo-faber.If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho, by Anne Carson, is doubly that.

... Read more

Product Description
Sappho’s thrilling lyric verse has been unremittingly popular for more than 2,600 years—certainly a record for poetry of any kind—and love for her art only increases as time goes on. Though her extant work consists only of a collection of fragments and a handful of complete poems, her mystique endures to be discovered anew by each generation, and to inspire new efforts at bringing the spirit of her Greek words faithfully into English.

In the past, translators have taken two basic approaches to Sappho: either very literally translating only the words in the fragments, or taking the liberty of reconstructing the missing parts. Willis Barnstone has taken a middle course, in which he remains faithful to the words of the fragments, only very judiciously filling in a word or phrase in cases where the meaning is obvious. This edition includes extensive notes and a special section of “Testimonia”: appreciations of Sappho in the words of ancient writers from Plato to Plutarch. Also included are a glossary of all the figures mentioned in the poems, and suggestions for further reading. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Worst Translation of Sappho's Poems I Have Ever Read
This translation is the worst translation of Sappho's poems I have ever read. Almost all the poems in this book sound like bland, unemotional, and unimaginative prose. It's so bland that I wouldn't even call it expressive. And this is not because Sappho is bland. No, this is because this translation is as bland as bland can possibly be. Trust me on this one: Do not buy this book. It would be better to read her fragmented poems with a different translator than to even get a glimpse of what I just witnessed.

Greener than grass...
The title of my review is a fragment of a famous poem by Sappho. I challenge you to find that poem. If you do let me know.

Do I have to introduce Sappho? From Antiquity till now she's a shining star. According to Plato she was the tenth muse and someone called her poetry "as refreshing as a morning breeze".
Is Sappho a lesbian? By many readers Sappho is regarded as such. I'm not saying that this isn't true but to answer that question we should know her better because too little is left of her work to say anything with certainty.

In Antiquity decent womenwere supposed to work in the kitchen and to raise their children, nothing more. But there were exceptions.
More or less 150 years after Homer's Iliad, Sappho lived on the island of Lesbos, west off the coast of what's modern Turkey. Her poems are vivid and she needs only a few words to describe essential human feelings. For instance she calls solitude: "this icy numbness of being alone".

Sappho excels also in describing nature - something you won't find often in Ancient literature.
" Wedding of Andromache " is one of the most vivid descriptions in the poetry of Antiquity. It gives an almost journalistic account of the homecoming of Hector and Andromache.

( Nice to know: from Sappho's poems remain about 500 lines. All Tragedies by Aeschylus have a total of 8144 lines. Conclusion: What's left of Sappho's poems is almost next to nothing.)

Barnstone gives a translation in modern and easy to read English. It renders the delicacy and tenderness of Sappho's poems. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from GeneralBooksClub.com. You can also preview excerpts from the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Published by: Macmillan and co., limited in 1920 in 66 pages; Subjects: Women; Lesbos Island (Greece); Juvenile Nonfiction / Biography & Autobiography / Women; Literary Criticism / General; Literary Criticism / Ancient & Classical; Literary Criticism / Women Authors; Literary Criticism / Poetry; Poetry / Ancient, Classical & Medieval; Social Science / Feminism & Feminist Theory; Social Science / Women's Studies; ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Sensual beauty in its purest form
Sappho's poetry, long the most famous of ancient literature, is rendered superbly in this translation by Mary Barnard.

Although as a child and young adult I never read literature seriously, various factors have made me curious about Sappho's writings and this small volume is an ideal pocket book or gift. The poems are not easy to get into because it takes the reader quite some time to see what is being written about, but the fact that they are mere fragments actually serves to a limited extent as an offsetting factor. The tone is wonderfully passionate - it is no wonder these poems are known to have been sung to musical accompaniment because even when one reads them they can move the emotions even of a reader like me who is never naturally moved to tears. However, because this emotion is only visible when one reads the lines as Barnard translates them, it is no wonder a casual reader may not realise what passion Sappho possessed.

Although Sappho is known for her sensual focus, many of these fragments have an almost spiritual tone to them, as in "the indistinct dead/in Hell's palace". The beautiful lines about the sweet flavours of the natural world stir the reader's imagination even more, however, and are almost unrivalled among poetry or music.

Whilst the detail in the introduction is not as good as in the alternative translation The Love Songs of Sappho, it is still adequate for the uninitiated.

lovely, yet far away
I hate to say it, but this book made me somewhat regret studying Ancient Greek. I was given a copy by a friend and utterly adored it. It lived in my purse. I found the poems graceful in their simplicity, the imagery beautiful. Then I was asked to translate some Sapphic poetry for class and attempted to use this book as a reference by which to check my work. I unfortunately found that many of the translations had words and lines missing and added (including the title-like fist lines of each translation) and some were so different from the original poems that I had a hard time even finding a correlation between the two.If you want a lovely book of poetry then I highly recommend this book, if you want a brilliant translation of the Greek then I would suggest you do it yourself, as I have, as of yet, been unable to find a competent translation.

the Lesbian lesbian
Because Sappho was a Lesbian who wrote about lesbian love, her poetry was banned at times throughout the ages, and therefore to this day there are only surviving fragments of her work and almost no complete poems. But of the fragments there is more than enough to ensure her place as one of the great female poets of all time. She wrote mainly love poems about things like passion, jealousy, and hostility towards her enemies. This book includes all of her surviving verse in a very readable and enjoyable translation.

David Rehak
author of "Poems From My Bleeding Heart"

"there's so much beauty..."
Rich Mullins once wrote "there's so much beauty around us for just two eyes to see." And so it is with the poetry of this ancient Greek lady Sappho. Without her extra eyes, I would be robbed of some sights I could not have found without her. For instance, in one of her poems, she writes:

"Awed by her splendor

Stars near the lovely
moon cover their own
bright faces
when she
is roundest and lights
earth with her silver"

Not only is there beauty. There is a straightforwardness and frankness to the poems of Sappho. It is a clear distillation of the poet's vision confronts the readers of these pages.

There is also wisdom and humor. As when she writes:

"Experience shows us

Wealth unchaperoned
by Virtue is never
an innocuous neighbor"

Mary Barnard is to be praised for these clear, unvarnished translations. Likewise, the introduction is very useful in dispelling so much of the myth that has sprung up around the legacy of this great poet. I recommend this book highly.

A pure earthy pleasure
Bernard's translation of Sappho is a translation of a poet who isdown-to-earth, who pays attention to the detail.

Some of the fragmentsare so brief that you are reminded of haiku: "The nightengale's / Thesoft-spoken / announcer of / Spring's presence"

Other poems speakspecifically of feminine concerns - the lost of the maiden-head, the colorof ribbon that fits best in her daughter's yellow hair.

I read a greatdeal of poetry in translation.In other translations I have not foundSappho to my liking.This translation appears to me to be truer to theauthor's earthliness and less concerned with making Sappho fit intopreconceptions.In short, I highly recommend this translation. ... Read more

Product Description
Born around 630 BC on the Greek Island of Lesbos, Sappho is now regarded as the greatest lyrical poet of Greece. Her work survives only in fragments, yet her influence extends throughout Western literature, fuelled by the speculations and romances which have gathered around her name, her story, her sexuality. The Sappho Companion brings together many different kinds of work, ranging from blue-stocking appreciations to juicy fantasies. We see her image change, recreated in Ovid's poetry and Boccaccio's tales, in translations by Pope, Rossetti and Swinburne, Baudelaire, and H.D., in the modern versions of Eavan Boland, Carol Rumens, and Jeanette Winterson. Artists, too, have felt Sappho's power, and the, Companion contains a rich variety of illustrations: classical statues and pre-Raphaelite paintings, Roman mosaics, and Romantic pornography.
Amazon.com Review
The ways in which this sparkling, unexpected anthology will be classified in libraries and bookstores--lesbian studies; classical studies--will strike anyone who reads it as absurd. A sweeping look at the persistence of the Greek poet Sappho in the artistic and popular imagination, The Sappho Companion draws on everything from the Roman myths of Sappho to the eighteenth century rediscovery of Herculaneum, with its intriguing papyrus fragments, to Pat Califia's 1980 lesbian S/M book, Sapphistry: The Book of Lesbian Sexuality (out of print). The only book that compares to The Sappho Companion in its breadth and imaginative vigor is Charles Sprawson's lyrical book on swimming, Haunts of the Black Masseur: The Swimmer as Hero, in which the swan-diving Sappho makes an appearance. You don't need to know a thing about Sappho to relish this book, but for true enthusiasts, it makes a good companion volume for Yopie Prins's Victorian Sappho, Paige DuBois's Sappho is Burning, and Anne Carson's brilliant meditation, Eros: The Bittersweet. --Regina Marler ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

All About Sappho
If you're a Sappho fan, you get everything in this book:her poems and fragments in the original Greek, followed by renderings by poets from Catullus and Ovid onward; her history, as much as is known; commentary on her by writers through the ages; and others' poems based on her work.The extant body of Sappho's work is so slender that the heart aches for what was lost; but these musings, analyses, and celebrations down through the ages help round out our image of her.

"Sappho" the Ten's Muse
Are you wondering about the poet Sappho" the poet the Greek & Roman people revered and respected for her beautiful poetry? Read this book, it unlocks the doors on the life & beauty of the talented "Sappho" a wonder with words that can touch or pierce your heart.
Blessings,
Donna Swindells

NOT yawn!
I don't know what the previous reviewer is talking about; I loved this book. Granted, I am no scholar of Sappho. Although I have read various translations of her poetry in the past, I do not read Greek and cannot comment upon whether Reynolds' research is accurate. However, given her amazing previous work (editing Aurora Leigh, the Penguin Book of Lesbian Short Stories, etc.) I am inclined to trust her (and I like her writing style anyway).

For me, this book was the perfect introduction to Sappho. It includes historical background followed by many of Sappho's fragments in a variety of translations. But that's just the beginning: Reynolds goes on to show how Sappho has been imagined/created by literature up to the present day. She anthologizes a variety of poems, plays, and fictions inspired by Sappho. It is amazing to see how, though so little of her writing survived, she has remained a titaness in our imaginations. Each literary generation has reinvented and recreated her. Reading Jeanette Winterson's amazing story "The Poetics of Sex" (narrated by a modern-day Sappho) fills me with hope and joy at the potential for lesbian creativity that is Sappho's legacy. I also appreciated the inclusion of works of art depicting Sappho through the ages. Although they are in black and white, they are an exquisite visual touch to this beautiful volume (the cover art is amazing as well).

I urge you not to judge this book by one bad review. It is a book to be perused at leisure, to leaf through in times of anxious sorrow and contemplative joy. Buy or borrow a copy and judge it for yourself.

Yawn
I don't know for whom this book may have been written.For the Sapphophile, there are certainly more exhaustive and interesting books, some are which are noted in the bibliography at the end. Furthermore, for all the treacly editorial reviews about Ms. Reynolds's scholarly resources (which are certainly evident), she abuses them time and time again in two ways, one merely bothersome, and the other approaching dishonesty. 1.)She frequently truncates the passages from other authors just when they begin to get interesting. 2) She frequently selects works of literature, particularly poems, that may or may not have anything to do with Sappho and offers no solid evidence that they do.They are, I guess, Sapphic by association.Reynolds's association.The two most obvious examples are Shelley's "To Constantia, Singing" and Emily Dicknson's ""Heaven"- Is What I Cannot Reach!"To take the latter as a case in point, the poem is supposed to be Sapphic because of a three line Sappho fragment (#105) about an apple on the topmost bough.Need I remind everyone that there was another apple on a bough in another book that has a far more rich cultural history.And given that Dickinson's poem concerns "Heaven" and "Paradise," it seems a stretch, so to speak, to see the poem as influenced by the Sapphic fragment.Truth be known, I spent many more hours meditating on Ms. Dickinson's exquisite 15 line poem than I did in reading the rest of the entire hodgepodge of this book, though I plodded through from srart to finish.
So, my advice is to buy a book of Ms. Dickinson's poems or a more intriguing and honest study of Sappho.This book is just a non-starter. ... Read more

Product Description
"Sappho's Leap delights."—USA Today

Sappho's Leap is a journey back 2,600 years to inhabit the mind of the greatest love poet the world has ever known. At the age of fourteen, Sappho is seduced by the beautiful poet Alcaeus, plots with him to overthrow the dictator of their island, and is caught and married off to a repellent older man in hopes that matrimony will keep her out of trouble. Instead, it starts her off on a series of amorous adventures with both men and women, taking her from Delphi to Egypt, and even to the Land of the Amazons and the shadowy realm of Hades.

Erica Jong—always our keenest-eyed chronicler of the wonders and vagaries of sex and love—has found the perfect subject for a witty and sensuous tale of a passionate woman ahead of her time. A generation of readers who have been moved to laughter and recognition by Jong's heroines will be enchanted anew by her re-creation of the immortal poet. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (34)

Nice possible-history of the tenth muse.
Jong's translations of what is left of Sappho's poetry are a little iffy, but recognizable. The story itself is beautiful. I saw the book likened to The Odyssey, and after reading, I agree. The journey is everything, for the character Jong builds on Sappho. The mythic journey that she finds herself thrown into creates Sappho's fame, and when she ends that journey, her fame almost flickers out in favor of the changing trends of song in her homeland. The tale Jong weaves out of what little is known of Sappho's history is wonderful. It flows like few modern stories do. And the ending was satisfying - a happy ending, veering away from despair in love and suicide. Jong's Sappho- and Aphrodite-inspired poems at the end were appropriate, but I didn't enjoy them that much. I ended up reading through them just to finish. They didn't grab my attention.

Nope, nope
I liked Fear of Flying, but not this one. Sometimes only one title from an author is plenty.

A work obviously meant for the unwashed and unread masses, Ewww
This author, Ms. Jong, is one of the most underestimated writers of today, does herself well with this wonderful work of historical fiction.Somewhere along the literary road, someone decided she was a sort of pulpy type writer.I suppose this is because she appeals to the "common person," the Proletariat so to speak, which bends the noses of the academic and upper classes out of joint. Being one of the unwashed masses, I find her prose is absolutely delightful as is her ability to tell a story. Here Ms. Jong has fused fiction, mysticism, historical fact and speculation into a wonderful, almost mystical story of a fascinating woman in a fascinating time, on a fascinating subject.She, the author, also gives us a good account of the ancient Gods, who for all I know are still with us, even to this day, and the role they were felt to play in human lives, and truth be told, probably still do. We have the added bonus of having some of Ms. Jong's translations of Sappho's work (there are many of these out there, and the efforts of Ms. Jong's are as good as any, indeed better than most) along with some very nice pieces (poetry) by the author, written in the style of the time.

As with any work, there may be a couple of questionable lines in the book; questionable only if you are so anal retentive that you go over a work of fiction trying to find something to crab about. (I know, that was a fragmented sentence, but I liked it anyway so will leave it as written). I disagree with another reviewer that the couple of lines discussing dildos may have been a bit over the top. They certainly do not distract from the work or the story in the least...Hey, I use them, all my friends use them, why on earth could not Sappho and her friends not use them, even if they did not have batteries at the time?I fear we may have a reactionary voice here in regards to those nasty old lesbians who still haunt the world; even though there are apparently more of the disgusting creatures today than in days of yore.I would also suggest you follow the author's suggestion that you find and read for yourself some of the great translations of Sappho's wonderful work; they are still, after all these years, truly a turn-on (that is a term, i.e. we of the unwashed masses, use at times.) Read the story, enjoy it.

This is a delightful book, truly a bit of a turn-on in many aspect and I enjoyed every page. And please do remember that this is a fictionalized account of a remarkable woman.It is not a lesson in Greek Mythology and was not meant to be.We know that some of you are ultra-sophisticated and are duely impressed with your own pontifications as to the mythological accuracy of this work, but hey, for those of you in that category...go write your own flippin book.

A wonderful romp through antiquity
I have heard about Erica Jong, but have not read anything by her, so this was my first experience. I picked up the book out of a recent interest in antiquity, and a desire to see what the world was like in the times of my great great great ancestors.

I enjoyed the book. Jong put much research and effort into the work. The book is less an orgy of erotica, and more an experience of a woman that we do not know much about. The effort to include such an array of characters and places is remarkable in itself, and to situate Sappho's life in the context of history as a necessary given was quite well done. The tongue-in-cheek interludes of Zeus and Aphrodite were always something I looked forward to in the reading, and I believe truly convey the understood nature of their divine relationship. The plot at times lacked something, I believe, but the characters were quite real to me.

Reading this work has only fueled my desire to pursue more books about myroots in the Mediterranean Basin, even in the form of historical novels. I think this was a bold effort bu Erica Jong, and praise is well-deserved.

Leaping into Mythology, With a Somewhat Awkward Landing
Sappho has always been an interesting figure to me, as have her poems. I always wonder what it would have been like had her poetry survived the ages whole and intact, and if there would have been as much fascination with her and her work if it had. Of course, you can say that about anything lost or fragmented over time.

The reason I mention this is that what Erica Jong attempts to do is to fill the gaps in Sappho -- not only in terms of poetic license, but also in terms of her own life and history. The premise of the novel is very interesting and starts off with Sappho herself about to leap over a cliff. As you follow her life, Jong actually exposes you to a lot of ancient Greek, Egyptian and Mediterranean mythology and historical lore -- creating a very cosmopolitan, strange and somewhat eerily familiar ancient classical world.

She also creates many interesting characters and has quite a few interesting ideas with regards to Sappho's own geographical and sensual journeys. In many ways, the author attempts to present Sappho's adventures as though they are part of a Homeric epic. Indeed, it is even stated somewhere in the book that the idea is that these would be Sappho's adventures if Homer had replaced Odysseus with the poet herself.

But however ambitious that goal was, it somewhat fell short. The characters were skimmed over a lot, and there was more in the way of summary and exposition than there was action. Often, although Sappho's own emotions were described very vividly through first-person narrative, the other characters were not given that much complexity -- as were some very interesting other situations.

There were many times in the novel itself that some events, transitions between events, and characters could have been expanded on and solidified, but they were summarized or skimmed over for the sake of brevity. Also, there were even hints of ideology in the narrative that were both anachronistic for the epic poetic tradition it was supposed to be written in or derived from, and very heavy-handed and obvious.

I feel that the idea was an excellent one, but more detail and more expansion to character and events could have been much more interesting. However, I did learn a lot from it, and I admire the attempt to take a figure and her works fragmented by history and filling the gaps with other elements of contemporary history, literature, and mythology. Trying to move it into mythology.

It was certainly an interesting read. ... Read more

Product Description
Little remains today of the writings of the archaic Greek poet Sappho (fl. late 7th and early 6th centuries B.C.E.), whose work is said to have filled nine papyrus rolls in the great library at Alexandria some 500 years after her death. The surviving texts consist of a lamentably small and fragmented body of lyric poetry--among them, poems of invocation, desire, spite, celebration, resignation, and remembrance--that nevertheless enables us to hear the living voice of the poet Plato called the tenth Muse.

Stanley Lombardo's translations give us a virtuoso embodiment of Sappho's voice, whose telltale charm, authority, immediacy, directness, intensity, and sudden changes of tone are among the hallmarks of his masterly translation.

Pamela Gordon introduces us to the world of Sappho, discusses questions surrounding the transmission of her manuscripts, offers advice on reading these texts, and concludes with an enlightening discussion of same-sex desire in Sappho. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Shining and Resplendent Sappho...
These translations of Sappho are for me the most beautiful I've ever encountered...

Lombardo presents each fragment on its own page, and presents them Thematically (in other words, not in order).He has used ALL of the long and shorter fragments.

In the Introduction he says that he did not want to use every single fragment because some of them are only one word and thus incomprehensible for poetic purposes (which I also agree)...so in total he presents over 90 of the fragments in the most beautiful and ravishing renditions I've ever seen!

These may be Lombardo's most beautiful translations he's done for Hackett Publishing!

"The moon has set..."
In Antiquity decent women were supposed to work in the kitchen and to raise their children, nothing more, but there were exceptions. More or less 150 years after Homer's Iliad, Sappho lived on the island of Lesbos, west off the coast of what is Turkey today.. (She went in exile for a short period due to political upheavel).
Sappho was already famous in Antiquity. Plato called her the tenth Muze and someone said her poetry was "as refreshing as a morning breeze".
Some of the best poems of Sappho are those that describe her loneliness.
(#62)
"But if you are my friend,
Go to a younger woman's bed,
For I will not endure an affair
In which I am older than the man."
(#73)
"The moon has set,
And the Pleiades
Midnight
The hour has gone by
I sleep alone." ... Read more

Product Description
Sappho is the greatest lyric poet of antiquity. Plato, a century after her death, referred to her as “the Tenth Muse,” and Longinos, in his first-century treatise “On the Sublime,” uses her verse to exemplify that transcendent quality in literature. In Sappho’s lyrics we hear for the first time in the West the words of an individual woman of her own world: her apprehension of sun and orchards; the troubles and summits of love, desire, and friendship. Her poems combine an impression of intimate self-involvement with an almost modern sense of detachment.

Though time has reduced the nine volumes of her work to a handful of complete poems and a collection of fragments, each word and phrase that survives is poignantly significant. The clarity of her voice, its absolute candor, its amazing fresh authority—whether in addressing a goddess, dancers before a night altar, the moon and stars, a sweet apple or mountain hyacinth, a lamb or cricket, a lover or companion—are qualities that compel us today as in antiquity.

Willis Barnstone has given us a close and beautiful lyrical version. His translation, with the original Greek on facing pages, includes a dozen hitherto unintelligible fragments that have been brought vibrantly back to life by him, as well as Sappho’s newly discovered poem from the Cologne papyrus in its complete form. It also contains the translator’s essay placing the poet in her historic and artistic context; a glossary; extensive notes; an epilogue and metrical guide by William E. McCulloh, Professor Emeritus of Classics at Kenyon College; and a special section of testimonia: appreciations of Sappho in the words of her ancient admirers.

Customer Reviews (2)

ALL OF IT !
Other reviewers didn't mention two important facts: the book includes the Greek originals and claims to include all of Sappho's known works. The translations are quite readable and seem to be respectful of the originals.

The Hour Has Gone By.
Do I have to introduce Sappho? From Antiquity till now she's a shining star. According to Plato she was the tenth muse and someone called her poetry "as refreshing as a morning breeze".
Is Sappho a lesbian? By many readers Sappho is regarded as such. I'm not saying that this isn't true but to answer that question we should know her better because too little is left of her work to say anything with certainty.

In Antiquity decent womenwere supposed to work in the kitchen and to raise their children, nothing more. But there were exceptions.
More or less 150 years after Homer's Iliad, Sappho lived on the island of Lesbos, west off the coast of what's modern Turkey. Her poems are vivid and she needs only a few words to describe essential human feelings. For instance she calls solitude: "this icy numbness of being alone".

Sappho excels also in describing nature - something you won't find often in Ancient literature.
"
...
Here ice water babbles through apple branches and roses leave shadow on the ground and bright shaking leaves pour down profound sleep
...". I love this fragment. It has the delicacy of a transparent watercolor painting.
One of her best poems describes her loneliness:
"
The moon has set
And the Pleiades
Midnight
The hour has gone by
I sleep alone.
"

One of the most famous of her poems is 'Seizure'. Feelings are described with a sense of humor in such way that it wouldn't be out of place in a modern comedy. (I give only an excerpt of Barnstone's translation).

" My voice is empty
and can say nothing as my tongue
cracks and slender fire races
under my skin. My eyes are dead
to light, my ears

pound, and sweat pours over me.
I convulse, greener than grass
and feel my mind slip as I go
close to death."

Barnstone's translation is an easy to read modern English and it renders the delicacy and sensitivity of Sappho. Included are extensive notes,
a glossary, and "testimonia" from Sappho's admirers and critics from Plato to Plutarch. ... Read more

Product Description
For the first time in Penguin Classics-the incomparable verse of the ancient Greek lyric poet Sappho, in a brilliant new translation

Sapho's writings are said to have filled nine papyrus rolls in the great library at Alexandria, but only one poem survives complete. This new translation of all of Sappho's extant poetry showcases the wide variety of themes in her work, from amorous songs celebrating adolescent females to poems of invocation, desire, spite, celebration, resignation, and remembrance. Aaron Poochigian captures the eros and mystery of Sappho's verse, bringing to readers of English the living voice of the poet Plato called "the tenth Muse," whose lyric power remains undiminished after 2,500 years. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A wonderful translation!
As Carol Ann Duffy, Britain's poet laureate says, "In these wonderful new translations by Aaron Poochigian we hear the voice of a great and enduring poet. Sappho." I couldn't agree more.

I have reread Poochigian's translation several times and I find them more and more beautiful each time through. I was surprised and delighted by the rhythms and his choice of words. Many of the poems struck me as sensual and moving. Sappho must have had an extraordinarily beautiful mind, but I never appreciated her poems in translation before now. If you don't read Ancient Greek, but you want to know what all the fuss is about, this is a very good translation to choose.

Preface:

Carol Ann Duffy has a lot of insight into Sappho. It is worth buying the book just to read what she says.

The Introduction:

Probably the weakest part of the whole book, but still filled with useful information and a good list of suggested reading. I would find this book very helpful if I had to write an essay on Sappho.

The Notes:

I learned more about Sappho from Poochigian's notes than I did in the class I took on Greek Lyric Poetry. I don't usually read notes, but these held my attention.

The Translation:

Poochigian's translation is accurate enough that you get a real sense of what the Greek says. I have read four of her poems in the original Greek; this translation captured both the sense and the beauty of the original.

Poochigian is a wonderful poet. He made good choices metrically in this translation. Normally, I am not a fan of translations into verse, but this one has a beauty all its own. I will probably read it out loud many times in the years to come because I love the way the words sound.

Although I don't agree with every choice of words he made, Poochigian has produced one of the most readable and skillful translations I have ever read. It is a work of art in itself and there is far more to admire than to forgive in this translation.

In another review I read for this book someone complained that this translation does not provide the original Greek on the facing page, but I did not find this to be a problem since it is very easy to look up the original Greek free on-line if you are interested in comparing it to the translation. I dare say that anyone who could do a meaningful comparison already owns Sappho in Greek.

Another review I read said that Poochigian uses absurdly long and obscure words. To be fair, however, I think that that reviewer should have mentioned that Poochigian always defines the obscure or difficult vocabulary he uses. Certainly, I did not have to look anything up.

This translation also gave me a sense of why Sappho has been loved and respected by many prominent figures- including Plato- since ancient times. Some of the translations were so beautiful I was moved to tears and wanted to read them over and over again. I have never experienced this with any other translation of Sappho.

As Carol Ann Duffy says at the end of her preface, "Aaron Poochigian's translations retain Sappho's intense sense of being singingly alive and of being on the side of youth, and loveliness, and love." I am glad I got the chance to read them.

Review by Julie Stoner
Book Review--Julie Stoner (in "Ablemuse", Winter 2009)

What, no Sapphic stanzas?The foxy Sappho didn't always use them herself--no one-trick hedgehog, she--but where are the famous stanzas named in her honor? Aaron P.'s translation does not attempt them. No, instead he reaches for something bolder:
namely, Sappho's other renowned inventions--pçctis and plectrum.

Music is the essence of Sappho's magic, argues Aaron P., but her quantitative (length-based) meter changes when English gives it stress-based percussion. Witness this review, with its weakened line-ends. English must demote to a long-short combo
what, in Sappho's Greek, would be mainly long-long, bold and emphatic:

- u - x - u u - u - -
- u - x - u u - u - -
- u - x - u u - u - -
- u u - u

Aaron further grieves that, while ancient cultures instantly inferred from the Sapphic stanza this is something songlike, our own thinks this is prosy and awkward. Still, free-verse translations are not the answer: shunning formal elements Sappho valued, these "betray her poems by their very nature."(Thus he condemns them.)

What to do, then?Aaron invokes the song-forms English-speakers know from their own tradition. This is something songlike, indeed. Prepare for aural enchantment:

Abanthis, please pick up your lyre,
Praise Gongyla. Your need to sing
Flutters about you in the air--
You gorgeous thing.
--"Abanthis, please pick up your lyre," stanza 1

Iambs, standing in for the Sapphic template, dance through three tetrameter lines, one half-line. Rhyme preserves the emphasis Sappho gave her lyrical line-ends:

Because my tongue is shattered.Gauzy
Flame runs radiating under
My skin: all that I see is hazy,
My ears all thunder.

Sweat comes quickly, and a shiver
Vibrates my frame.I am more sallow
Than grass, and suffer such a fever
As death should follow.
--"That fellow strikes me as god's double," stanzas 3 and 4

On the whole, I find his approach successful, though his frequent metrical substitutions paired with off-rhymes (stomach/come back, and even dalliance/battalions) sometimes raise my eyebrows. The choice of diction feels contemporary, with few exceptions. (Who, this day and age, says bedizened?Must we dance with the Webster's?)

Subtly bedizened Aphrodite,
Deathless daughter of Zeus, Wile-weaver,
I beg you, Empress, do not smite me
With anguish and fever

[intervening text omitted by reviewer]

Come to me now. Drive off this brutal
Distress. Accomplish what my pride
Demands. Come, please, and in this battle
Stand at my side.
--"Subtly bedizened Aphrodite," stanzas 1 and 7


Wonder how these excerpts have fared with others? Here's the way Anne Carson presents them ('02, Knopf) in If Not, Winter, although I'll skip the Greek she puts facing:

]I bid you sing
of Gongyla, Abanthis, taking up
your lyre as (now again) longing
floats around you,

you beauty
--Sappho Fragment 22, first complete stanza plus two words
***

no: tongue breaks and thin
fire is racing under skin
and in eyes no sight and drumming
fills ears

and cold sweat holds me and shaking
grips me all, greener than grass
I am and dead--or almost
I seem to me.
--Sappho Fragment 31, stanzas 3 and 4
***

Deathless Aphrodite of the spangled mind,
child of Zeus, who twists lures, I beg you
do not break with hard pains,
O lady, my heart
[intervening text omitted by reviewer]

Come to me now: loose me from hard
care and all my heart longs
to accomplish, accomplish. You
be my ally.
--Sappho Fragment 1, stanzas 1 and 7

Anne's concern for simply transmitting extant text is why her lines have opposing Greek, and why so many pages contain such random fragments as these three:

]
]right here
]
](now again)
]
]for
]
--Sappho Fragment 83 (entire)

makeup bag
--Sappho Fragment 179 (entire)

celery
--Sappho Fragment 191 (entire)

Aaron's goal, instead, is to give the reader pleasure.String too small to be saved is absent. Further, he's reorganized songs by topic, not just by number. Notes (which are detailed, and at times, amusing) face each fragment, rather than lurk as endnotes. Though without the numbers, it's hard to find old favorite pieces,

Aaron P.'s achievement in this translation stands. The graceful music of Sappho's pçctis, plucked by rhyme as if by a skillful plectrum, drowns my objections. "Stung with Love", the subtitle Aaron gives his new translation, comes from the thrilling piece that German scholars found in '04. Another reason to buy this.

... Read more

Product Description

This volume contains the poetic fragments of the two illustrious singers of early sixth-century Lesbos: Sappho, the most famous woman poet of antiquity, whose main theme was love; and Alcaeus, poet of wine, war, and politics, and composer of short hymns to the gods. Also included are the principal testimonia, the ancients' reports on the lives and work of the two poets.

The five volumes in the Loeb Classical Library edition of Greek Lyric contain the surviving fragments of solo and choral song. This poetry was not preserved in medieval manuscripts, and few complete poems remain. Later writers quoted from the poets, but only so much as suited their needs; these quotations are supplemented by papyrus texts found in Egypt, most of them badly damaged. The high quality of what remains makes us realise the enormity of our loss.

Volume I presents Sappho and Alcaeus. Volume II contains the work of Anacreon, composer of solo song; the Anacreontea; and the earliest writers of choral poetry, notably the seventh-century Spartans Alcman and Terpander. Stesichorus, Ibycus, Simonides, and other sixth-century poets are in Volume III. Bacchylides and other fifth-century poets are in Volume IV along with Corinna (although some argue that she belongs to the third century). Volume V contains the new school of poets active from the mid-fifth to the mid-fourth century and also collects folk songs, drinking songs, hymns, and other anonymous pieces.

Customer Reviews (1)

The Lady Dawn
The main interest in Loeb Classical Library's Greek Lyric I is Sappho. Identified with the city of Mytilene, on the isle of Lesbos, ca. 7th - 6th centuries B.C., Sappho exemplified, for the ancient Greek and Roman critics (e.g., Ovid, Catullus, Longinus, Plutarch), consummate skill in the craft of poetry--especially with her ability to deploy the Greek language (within the ancient Aeolic dialect) for the most subtle musical/meterical effects and thrilling invocations. Her peers are only the greatest of love poets. What Aristotle says of Sophocles applies equally to Sappho: She has only to name the nightingale and she sings. With one exception, her poetry exists for us only in the briefest of quotations, often no more than half a line here, half a word there-- but these are sufficient to document her greatness. It were worth studying Greek so as to enjoy her very words. The translation is fairly literal, but do read the Greek text aloud and thereby relish the compression of her language and the music of her song (ah, the genius of ancient Greek-- so seductive that the rabbis of old forbade the study of Greek until the scholar had attained the years of prudence, i.e., 40+). Essential to any library for gentle-folk. Let me add that at least three great achievements in poetry come to us from the eastern Mediterranean--Homer, Sappho, and King David. The poetry of these three wordsmiths is, first, to be sung, or incanted, with instrumental acompaniment. And, while translations are often splendid (especially with Psalms, or Tehillim), yet each poet bends the words to his/her will (to paraphrase Luther's appreciation of J Des Prez). ... Read more

Product Description
THE GIRLS lifts the veil on the private lives of early Hollywood's most powerful and uninhibited goddesses...

The most unforgettable and immortal women of Hollywood's golden era thrilled to a hidden world of exciting secrets.In THE GIRLS, Diana McLellan reveals the complex and intimate connections that roiled behind the public personae of Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich and the women who loved them.Previously unseen FBI files, private correspondence and a trove of unpublished documents reveal a chain of lesbian affairs that moved from the theater world of New York through the heights of chic society to embed itself in the power structure of the movie business.

Why did Garbo and Dietrich deny knowing each other to the bitter end? THE GIRLS documents how they not only knew one another, but the swoon that started their ill-starred amour.How did Garbo-worshipper Tallulah Bankhead save Dietrich's career?FBI files make it clear how an intervention with J. Edgar Hoover helped.When was Marlene Dietrich first married? Not when her official biography claimed she was-an early marriage to a sexy, smoky communist was hushed up; THE GIRLS shows how and why.

From the uninhibited appeal of lover-to-the-stars Mercedes de Acosta to the role of Garbo's lover Salka Viertel in torpedoing her career, from the sapphic world of silent star Alla Nazimova'sGarden of Alla to Rudolph Valentino's lesbian brides, THE GIRLS explores a rich stew of film, politics, sexuality, psychology and stardom.Amazon.com Review
The debut volume from the new L.A. Weekly imprint at St. Martin's Press, Diana McLellan's witty and penetrating study of the golden age of Hollywood sapphism will delight the armchair detective as well as the lavender movie buff. Thanks to McLellan's obsessive sleuthing, The Girls offers not only the most detailed biography of Mercedes de Acosta, seducer of the stars, but provides tantalizing evidence of an early affair in Germany between Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo, women who in later life claimed never to have met. Much of the book is devoted to Garbo--another sign of the author's good taste--and revelations abound. Sadly, the golden age gave way to McCarthyism. Even the "gayest" of Hollywood lesbians retreated into the closet, or, like de Acosta, left for Europe. McLellan tracks their disappearance in the 1950s and 1960s against the first stirrings of the gay rights movement, providing a satisfying conclusion to a fascinating but not always happy tale. --Regina Marler ... Read more

Customer Reviews (24)

the girls; sappho goes to Hollywood
excellent, informative book that would never have been published during the time the actual events occured

fantasy
Nearly all of Dianne McLellan's accounts of Greta Garbo's lesbian liaisons are unreliable, and therefore should fail to titillate. Otherwise this book is well written, entertaining and informative.

McLellan's tone makes the book
Homosexual activity in Old Hollywood was wrapped in such a thick shroud of secrecy, it's doubtful there will ever be a "definitive" book on the subject. The reviewers who criticize this book as being too speculative miss the point that, with so little provable fact to work with, any book on the subject winds up being speculative. (Even interviewing surviving family and friends doesn't guarantee the researcher will avoid opinions, lies and personal agendas.)

Since there are so many holes chroniclers must fill in, the books end up being more of a Rorschach test of the authors than an objective presentation of the history. (And in reading the reviews here, I'd hazard the opinion that it becomes a Rorschach of the READERS, too!)

Here's my personal Rorschach:

I couldn't disagree more with the comment that McLellan's tone was off-putting. Her tone was precisely what I liked best about this---yes---speculative romp. (The term "my girls" is patronizing? Funny, I felt the author's distinctive *affection* for her subjects with that phrase.)

I have read far too many Old Hollywood biographies written by disapproving authors. In these books, lesbianism was presented as a seedy, shamefaced, sideline activity which resulted from either inebriation or narcissistic hedonism.

However, McLellan dares to create a tone of celebration when talking of her subjects and their attraction to each other. Yes, these women were catty and manipulative and their affairs were short-lived and often shallow. However, throughout the book, McLellan creates the feeling that these women were capable of genuinely loving life and each other between melodramas. Wow. Women-loving-women being portrayed as actually being FUN? How radical is that? (wink)

Take the book with a grain of salt, (like all other books on the subject, even William J. Mann,) but enjoy the fact that women-loving-women in Old Hollywood DID exist and that some of it was actually a celebration.

Herta von Walther was in Joyless Street, not Dietrich
`"I'm of course aware that some believe that Herta von Walther played the Dietrich role in the Garbo film Die freudlose Gasse, "The Joyless Street",' so writes Diana McLellan.

Despite the author's claim that Marlene was in Pabst 's "The Joyless Street," there is absolutely no evidence that any actress other than Herta von Walther played the part of the woman in the butcher line.

McLellan certainly has no proof that Marlene played the part. Therefore any thing she says about her in that role is opinionated speculations.

There is, however, much evidence that Herta von Walther was in that role.


Marlene and Herta did appear together in one film in 1923, Tragödie der Liebe.

There is no evidence that Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich ever appeared in any films together.

The fact is that Herta made four films with the director of The Joyless street between the years 1925 and 1928. The four are Joyless Street, Secrets of a Soul, Love of Jeanne Ney, Abwege.

There is no record of director Georg Wilhelm Pabst having ever made any films with Marlene Dietrich.

Too much conjecture
Interesting book, a quick read, and an interesting perspective about the evil influence of Salka Viertel on the career of Greta Garbo. Ironic that the only friend she ever trusted ruined her career (Salka Viertel). I did not like Greta Garbo's treatment of her loyal friend/lover Mercedes. Greta Garbo is depicted as a young woman who developed some strange coping mechanisms in order to survive in Hollywood. Some things that the author wrote about seem fictional or conjecture, for example, Greta stripped down to nothing in front of Georges Schlee for a fitting by his designer wife. How could the writer know such things unless she interviewed Mr or Mrs. Schlee themselves? ... Read more

Product Description
Sappho sang her poetry to the accompaniment of the lyre on the Greek island of Lesbos over 2500 years ago. Throughout the Greek world, her contemporaries composed lyric poetry full of passion, and in the centuries that followed the golden age of archaic lyric, new forms of poetry emerged. In this unique anthology, today's reader can enjoy the works of seventeen poets, including a selection of archaic lyric and the complete surviving works of the ancient Greek women poets--the latter appearing together in one volume for the first time.
Sappho's Lyre is a combination of diligent research and poetic artistry. The translations are based on the most recent discoveries of papyri (including "new" Archilochos and Stesichoros) and the latest editions and scholarship. The introduction and notes provide historical and literary contexts that make this ancient poetry more accessible to modern readers.
Although this book is primarily aimed at the reader who does not know Greek, it would be a splendid supplement to a Greek language course. It will also have wide appeal for readers of' ancient literature, women's studies, mythology, and lovers of poetry. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Summary of Sappho's Lyre
"Sappho's Lyre", written by Diane J. Rayor, is sensationally crafted in chronological order to afford today's modern audience the ability to understand and appreciate the lyrics of ancient Greek poetry.This volume is significant as it includes the works of all the ancient women poets together in one book for the first time ever.Along with the works of the seventeen poets who composed various genres of lyric poetry over 2500 years ago, "Sappho's Lyre" includes an introduction and notes section to explain the characters as well as the history of events taking place during the time each of the poets' lyrics are composed.These poets use their lyrics and musical instruments as a way of communicating the events and feelings of the individuals and their communities during the Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods.Diane Rayor does an extraordinary job of explaining in modern day language the growth and development of ancient poetry. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Brilliant papyrologist, Not as brilliant a literary critic.
The late D.L. Page's talents were certainly in creating solid, serviceable texts, such as his work with Aeschylus, the Poetarum Lesbiorum Fragmenta, etc.His exegesis of textual problems in this text is still remarkably useful, and provides the scholar with adequate information to proceed in an informed manner when working with the text.As far as a literary critic, Page has always been less than creative, looking at things with a rather prosaic lense.His interpretation of Alcaeus fr. 357 (LP Z34, V 140) is foolishly literal, and fails to contribute anything to the understanding of the piece.His wide reading and abilities with the language itself more than make up for his shortcomings, making this an essential book to have for suggestions that point the reader towards parallel passages, and as survey of the textual corruption/emendation in the selection of poems contained within.

An Introduction to the Study of Ancient Lesbian Poetry
[As that is the subtitle of this book.(Take note "Lesbian" is a historical and geographical appellation, not a sexual one.)]

There is an anecdote that the aging Solon, upon hearing his nephew perform one of Sappho's poems, became desparate to learn it for himself on the spot.When asked why he is so eager to learn the song, he supposedly replied, "So that I may die knowing it."

In the ancient world Sappho was considered to be a writer of the highest order; a genius of the Greek culture nearly on par with Homer.Like Homer she exists on the shadowy margins of history.Little is known of her life during the 6th century B.C. on the island of Lesbos.And yet the classical historian Sir Maurice Bowra tells us, "Sappho cast such a spell on Greece and Rome that even now it is hard to distinguish fact from fiction in her story or to see clearly how she lived and worked."

Denys Page is also classical scholar and this is a scholarly work.It is a dry, and one is tempted to say, ironically, dispassionate book, chock full of discursive analyses, endless footnotes, and other literary apparatus.Yet as one who feels passionate about the genius of Sappho, I rank this as one of the most valuble books on my shelf.

Page deals only with twelve of Sappho's best-preserved poems (much of her other work is known to us only as short passages or fragments) as well as the more extensive oeuvre of her contempory and countryman Alcaeus (Industrious students of ancient poetry may find something of interest here.)Each poem is presented in the original greek text, followed by Page's translation, a "commentary" explaining and exploring the ambiguous facets of interpretation out of the ancient greek, and an "interpretation" of the meaning of the poem.Page makes little effort, as most translators do, to aestheticize the verse.He is more concerned with conveying the best possible approximation of the literal meaning of each line.As a result the poetry has a rambling, perhaps overly-long line, intercut with much punctuation.While this may do little to conserve the elegant music and economy of Sappho's lyric sensibility, it is a brave attempt to protect her literary intent.

Everyone seems to have their own ideas about Sappho and the significance of her poetry.At one time in history the Catholic Church had her on the list of books to be burned.Both the sexual orientation of the author and the powerful sensual tone that exists in her writing have chaffed against the moralistic sensibilities of the illiberal critic through the centuries, just as she has become something of a cause celebre for some modern readers.There are many examples of translation that have been made in the service of a particular translator's interpretive agenda (Classicist, 19th C. Romantic, modern lesbian readings, etc.)I enjoy Mary Barnard's 1958 version of Sappho, although it is certainly inaccurate.It may well be that there is no such thing as a perfect translation, which is to say nothing about the possibility of an accurate apprehension of the poet's intellect.We can only do our best.

Ambiguity is with us always.It lives in the heart, and Sappho obviously knew this.Her most powerful poems spring from an an attempt to give voice to the unknowable in ourselves.As in Billy Holiday's best songs, the magic exists in the gaps between what is being said and the emotions that give voice to it.One can intuit the truth in the narrow gap that exist between the two, and great beauty too.

I remember having had a big disagreement with my Lit. Prof. who thouroghly dissed Page's work, saying, "There are much better translations of Sappho available."This may well be the case, yet her writing presents fundamental problems of scholarship associated with an incomplete survival of ancient texts.We would like to find the earliest and most accurate documents possible to obtain an accurate appreciation of Sappho's voice and mind.I still cannot imagine a serious investigation of Sappho without this book, short of embarking on a post-graduate course of study in ancient Greek myself.Until the day that a more complete text of Sappho's poetry is offered up by the sands of Egypt, Page's effort may provide our best resource.

An Introduction to the Study of Ancient Lesbian Poetry
[As that is the subtitle of this book.(Take note "Lesbian" is a historical and geographical appellation, not a sexual one.)]

There is an anecdote that the aging Solon, upon hearing his nephew perform one of Sappho's poems, became desparate to learn it for himself on the spot.When asked why he is so eager to learn the song, he supposedly replied, "So that I may die knowing it."

In the ancient world Sappho was considered to be a writer of the highest order; a genius of the Greek culture nearly on par with Homer.Like Homer she exists on the shadowy margins of history.Little is known of her life during the 6th century B.C. on the island of Lesbos.And yet the classical historian Sir Maurice Bowra tells us, "Sappho cast such a spell on Greece and Rome that even now it is hard to distinguish fact from fiction in her story or to see clearly how she lived and worked."

Denys Page (a good name for him, no?) is also classical scholar and this is a scholarly work.It is a dry, and one is tempted to say, ironically, dispassionate book, chock full of discursive analyses, endless footnotes, and other literary apparatus.Yet as one who feels passionate about the genius of Sappho, I rank this as one of the most valuble books on my shelf.

Page deals only with twelve of Sappho's best-preserved poems (much of her other work is known to us only as short passages or fragments) as well as the more extensive oeuvre of her contempory and countryman Alcaeus (Industrious students of ancient poetry may find something of interest here.)Each poem is presented in the original greek text, followed by Page's translation, a "commentary" explaining and exploring the ambiguous facets of interpretation out of the ancient greek, and an "interpretation" of the meaning of the poem.Page makes little effort, as most translators do, to aestheticize the verse.He is more concerned with conveying the best possible approximation of the literal meaning of each line.As a result the poetry has a rambling, perhaps overly-long line, intercut with much punctuation.While this may do little to conserve the elegant music and economy of Sappho's lyric sensibility, it is a brave attempt to protect her literary intent.

Everyone seems to have their own ideas about Sappho and the significance of her poetry.At one time in history the Catholic Church had her on the list of books to be burned.Both the sexual orientation of the author and the powerful sensual tone that exists in her writing have chaffed against the moralistic sensibilities of the illiberal critic through the centuries, just as she has become something of a cause celebre for some modern readers.There are many examples of translation that have been made in the service of a particular translator's interpretive agenda (Classicist, 19th C. Romantic, modern lesbian readings, etc.)I enjoy Mary Barnard's 1958 version of Sappho, although it is certainly inaccurate.It may well be that there is no such thing as a perfect translation, which is to say nothing about the possibility of an accurate apprehension of the poet's intellect.We can only do our best.

Ambiguity is with us always.It lives in the heart, and Sappho obviously knew this.Her most powerful poems spring from an an attempt to give voice to the unknowable in ourselves.As in Billy Holiday's best songs, the magic exists in the gaps between what is being said and the emotions that give voice to it.One can intuit the truth in the narrow gap that exist between the two, and great beauty too.

I remember having had a big disagreement with my Lit. Prof. who thouroghly dissed Page's work, saying, "There are much better translations of Sappho available."This may well be the case, yet her writing presents fundamental problems of scholarship associated with an incomplete survival of ancient texts.We would like to find the earliest and most accurate documents possible to obtain an accurate appreciation of Sappho's voice and mind.I still cannot imagine a serious investigation of Sappho without this book, short of embarking on a post-graduate course of study in ancient Greek myself.Until the day that a more complete text of Sappho's poetry is offered up by the sands of Egypt, Denys Page's effort may provide our best resource.

Grecia
Excellent for both those who have studied the ancient Greek language, and for the serious scholar of archaic lyric poetry. Page is one of the leading contemporary experts in this field, and discusses the Greek in-depth. Provides a rational (rather than hysterical) account of Sappho, and discusses some of the politics of Alcaeus. This book is not filled with the endless speculation that so often accompanies works on Sappho. ... Read more

Product Description

The world has long wished for more of Sappho’s poetry, which exists mostly in tantalizing fragments. So the apparent recovery in 2004 of a virtually intact poem by Sappho, only the fourth to have survived almost complete, has generated unprecedented excitement and discussion among scholarly and lay audiences alike. This volume is the first collection of essays in English devoted to discussion of the newly recovered Sappho poem and two other incomplete texts on the same papyri. Containing eleven new essays by leading scholars, it addresses a wide range of textual and philological issues connected with the find. Using different approaches, the contributions demonstrate how the “New Sappho” can be appreciated as a complete, gracefully spare poetic statement regarding the painful inevitability of death and aging.

Customer Reviews (1)

Essential Reading
This is essential reading for anyone with a serious interest in Sappho.The widely publicized discovery and publication a few years ago of a 12 line poem by Sappho has by now led to a plethora of translations of it on the internet.Yet, quite literally lost in translation is the fact that many of the words in at least 5 of the lines of that poem are based on conjectures that remain open to debate.Furthermore, there are 8 more lines, albeit fragmentary, discovered above that 12 line poem that may constitute a prelude to it.In addition, there are 4 more lines from an even earlier discovery that many scholars continue to argue relate to the 12 line poem, if not as a continuation, at least as an alternate ending.We have then, not a 12 line poem, but 24 lines of poetry.If you care about Sappho you are going to want to know as much about all 24 lines as possible.This book is for now the only place to start.

According to the publisher there will be online access to this book as well as updates to it, but as of the date of this review access to that site appears to be restricted.Once available perhaps that site will allow for some clarification of what unfortunately makes this book difficult to work with, especially for the "wider audience" the publisher intends to reach.The chapter where one would expect to find a translation of each of the 24 lines (the title of the chapter indicates as much) fails to provide any translation for the fragmentary 8 line prelude (the essay on p.126 provides a translation but it is partial and based on conjectured language not in the authoritative text) or the 4 line continuation/alternate ending (a number of the essays provide translations but it should be emphasized that the reading of the 4th line is problematic).If the publisher intended to reach a wider audience it would seem that the Greek would have been better presented in romanized text.With so many contributors it is entirely understandable that there will be differences in terminology but the variations in how the relevant sections of the 24 lines of Sappho are referred to are bewildering.The first 8 lines are labeled the "New Fragment" and printed separately from fragment 58 on p.10, only to reappear under fragment 58 on p.14, while in other essays these same lines are referred to as "poem 1", "Passage A" or the "Thalia poem."The editors should have provided an explanatory note or table.What is most impressive about the interpretive essays is how the various distinguished scholars seem to converge on similar conclusions regarding the significance of the performance context for appreciating these lines of poetry, yet by deploying very different lines of argument buttressed by very different evidence.What is most disappointing is that only one barely 13 page essay directly addresses the "philosophical issues" referred to in the subtitle to this book.The philosophical import of what Sappho is doing here deserves more attention but because philosophers do not usually read Sappho (or readers of Sappho, philosophy) it is a challenge even to broach the subject.An ostensibly improbable starting point would be a consideration of the intersection of what we now see as the distinct disciplines of poetry and philosophy in the thought of Parmenides.Bowra's appreciation of Parmenides as a poet has been for the most part overlooked.Yet, it was Gadamer who, in a lecture where he frequently refers to Parmenides' poetry, bore down on Parmenides' use of the Greek word "chroa" (the same word as used by Sappho in the lines analyzed in this book) and, perhaps sensitive to his own time in life (the lecture was given as he was about to begin what was to be a long retirement), thought he could detect a "call into consciousness the anxiety that mortals feel . . . that everything born must die" (p.121/The Beginning of Philosophy).It is uncanny how he seems almost to be quoting Sappho even though the lines of hers we now have had yet to be discovered.There is more than enough in the association of those thoughts not only with how philosophy began but also on where it is going today to start a dialog.Such a dialog, however, would now need to begin not with the purported "father" of western philosophy but with the voice of a woman, the voice of Sappho. ... Read more

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A Sappho of Green Springs is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Bret Harte is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of Bret Harte then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

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collaborative poems in Sapphic idiom ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Ambiguity makes these poems difficult but more beauitful.
I bought Sappho's Gymnasium by Olga Broumas and T Begley on the basis of the first-lines listed on Amazon.com. The easy-going spirituality I saw in them appealed to me-I thought, "This looks just right."These poems arenot the poems I've been waiting for my whole life, but I'm glad I've readthem.

I was writing a letter to my friend about these poems and describedthem as "kinda crazy, out-there."There's no punctuation, which doesn'tsit well with me, but it fits with Broumas and Begley's style.These shortpoems are mostly strings of images with some reflection too.Connectionsbetween the images aren't made-the reader needs to make the connections forherself.But in most places it's impossible to make these connections in away that's wholly satisfying.Sometimes it feels pleasant to let theimages play themselves in my mind-it feels like my unconscious is makingsense of them in a way that's vague and beautiful.Sometimes the imagesinteract, resonate with one another, in a way that I could never describe. But other times I get frustrated, as if the writers are playing a game withmeaning, and it's a game I've played before, and I don't want to play withthem.

This ambiguity is obviously what the poets wanted.Everything isviewed as if through a screen or in a very hazy, bright light.There aremoments of clarity that I enjoy very much.For the most part, the poemsdon't seem whole-they're heavily dependant on one another-but there areoccasional poems that stand alone as complete.I particularly like theseones; they seem more successful.

Because of the ambiguity, this book isgenerally frustrating to me, but also because of the ambiguity, it's alsogenerally a pleasure.The easy-going spirituality that attracted me tothis book initially is not explored as much as I wanted, but it is anundercurrent throughout the poems, a part of that bright, hazy light. ... Read more

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The Sappho History traces the story of the reception of Sappho's poetry and her afterlife in literature and art from the Romantic period to the present day. For women writers in the Romantic period, she symbolized possibility. For the young Tennyson, she was a private ancestor, helping him make his own name as a poet. Reynolds demonstrates how Sappho's themes of desire, loss, and the memory of desire are recuperated and refashioned in her successors' work. Richly illustrated throughout, The Sappho History provides a new view of Western culture. ... Read more

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Now available in English for the first time, Franco Ferrari's important Sappho's Gift: The Poet and Her Community offers extraordinary new insight into the life and works of Sappho, one of the ancient world's most brilliant poets. One of the very few women writers whose works have survived from antiquity, Sappho occupies a unique spot in literature in part because of her gender but more importantly because of the light she sheds on her time and place - Archaic Greece. Ferrari's study begins with the fragmentary evidence about the poems provided by papyri, and moves on to consider Sappho's iconography, the types of poems and their occasions, and her audience, meaning both her immediate circle of companions as well as competing groups and people in the larger community. ... Read more