Sappho: A New Translation (World Literature in Translation)

If you look closely at the photo of the back of the book, the white is yellowed in spots all over. The smudges that you can see on the photo of the front cover were all over the book, which of course I don’t blame the author, but Amazon. The overall combination of discoloration on the book. and damage from Amazon is disappointing 🥲 Especially for the price point.

One of history’s great tragedies is how few of her renowned and frequently commented upon works have survived, and that those which did exist in somewhat fragmented form, have been cobbled together off crumbling papyruses, from the Greek. Hence, an eloquent and diligent translator becomes downright essential to bringing what represent some of the most important scraps of writing ever laid down into a language and a format the modern English speaker reader can understand and appreciate. Mary Barnard does that to absolute perfection in this slim, impactful volume, so flawlessly it becomes almost astonishing. I don’t recommend purchasing, but it’s worth just skimming some of the other gobbledegook, essentially unreadable translations of Sappho out there (“If Not Winter”: YIKES) to appreciate just what a feat and accomplishment this artful rendering represents, and what the same material can be misshapen into in less expert hands. Trite as it may sound, Sappho is to poetry what Shakespeare is to drama, Faulkner is to novels, Beethoven is to music. Her work is just that seminal and significant, however, and countless of the most renowned minds and pens have attested to this over the ages since its composition. Each work if very brief, yet surging with electricity and thoughtful intent, with music and feeling and rich, inimitable perspective and lyricism. If it were food, one might equate the sumptuous delicacies within to ambrosia, but need we find a more terrestrial analogy French cuisine comes the closest to describing Sappho’s small, flavorful, hearty little pieces. Peasant food, which nonetheless are capable of excelling beyond anything else you’ve tasted before or shall since. If you have not had the pleasure, you owe it to yourself to take a gander through the Elysian Fields these pages evoke. A perfect gift this could also make for a cherished friend or family member, especially mothers, sisters, daughters, young woman finding themselves and grappling with marriage, growing up, childbearing, and other timeless subjects addressed within confidently with humor and audacity!

I purchased this book for my granddaughter who will be going to college in another year and this book is on her reading list.

good book

"You may forget, but let me tell you this: someone in some future time will remember us."

Even her fragments of poetry are better than many other poetry books I've read.

It is such a pity that we only have fragments of beautiful verse.Even in translation the love poetry is so appealing.