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sura_reads_books's review against another edition
4.0
3.5/5
Probably my favorite translation I’ve found so far of some of the fragments!
Favorite fragments from this translation:
3, 5, 15, 18, 19, 22 (The first translation I’ve found that uses the word “youth”!!!), 23, 24, 25, 34 (this is the first translation of this fragment I’ve found that made sense to me)
Probably my favorite translation I’ve found so far of some of the fragments!
Favorite fragments from this translation:
3, 5, 15, 18, 19, 22 (The first translation I’ve found that uses the word “youth”!!!), 23, 24, 25, 34 (this is the first translation of this fragment I’ve found that made sense to me)
homefornina's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
2.25
Slightly below average poetry experience for me :)
heresthepencil's review against another edition
3.0
I received a galley from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 ☆
This is the 7th translation of Sappho’s poetry I have read & I actually managed to read one or two fragments translated by Edmonds before. So I both knew exactly what I was getting myself into & had some expectations.
The thing about Sappho’s poetry is that it’s extremely simple yet powerful. It’s rather difficult to translate into English all the layers of meaning she put into just a few choice words & over the years people had such vastly different approaches to this monster of a task. This is actually why I enjoy Edmonds’ translation so much. Because while it might not be the best one and sometimes I’m floored by the fact he really went for rhymes - it somehow portrays the timelessness of Sappho’s verses. It’s a translation from the early XX century and it uses a language that’s already old to us, just like Sappho’s language is. It’s still simple and we can still understand it, though - again, just like Sappho’s! It’s been almost 3000 years but the beauty of love she described? Still the same.
3.5 ☆
I too found fault once on a day
With the Lady of Love - whose grace I pray
These words of mine may not lose for me,
But bring me a maid I’d rather see
Than all her kind apart.
This is the 7th translation of Sappho’s poetry I have read & I actually managed to read one or two fragments translated by Edmonds before. So I both knew exactly what I was getting myself into & had some expectations.
The thing about Sappho’s poetry is that it’s extremely simple yet powerful. It’s rather difficult to translate into English all the layers of meaning she put into just a few choice words & over the years people had such vastly different approaches to this monster of a task. This is actually why I enjoy Edmonds’ translation so much. Because while it might not be the best one and sometimes I’m floored by the fact he really went for rhymes - it somehow portrays the timelessness of Sappho’s verses. It’s a translation from the early XX century and it uses a language that’s already old to us, just like Sappho’s language is. It’s still simple and we can still understand it, though - again, just like Sappho’s! It’s been almost 3000 years but the beauty of love she described? Still the same.
djungelskog's review against another edition
first time reading sappho so i can’t really have an opinion about the translation since i have nothing to compare for but i’m definitely buying some other translations and then i can come back and reread this!!
spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
2.0
This review is of the translation by J.M. Edmonds.
The Dover edition, first published in 2018, is a republication of the work originally published as Sappho Revocata by Peter Davies, London, in 1928. The original Greek portion of the text has been omitted. The Introduction is reprinted from Sappho: in the Added Light of the New Fragments by J.M. Edmonds, Deighton Bell and Co., Cambridge, 1912.
In terms of accuracy to the original: 2 stars.
The Dover edition, first published in 2018, is a republication of the work originally published as Sappho Revocata by Peter Davies, London, in 1928. The original Greek portion of the text has been omitted. The Introduction is reprinted from Sappho: in the Added Light of the New Fragments by J.M. Edmonds, Deighton Bell and Co., Cambridge, 1912.
In terms of accuracy to the original: 2 stars.