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epiphanylord's review against another edition
4.0
i mean... i'm a queer girl, so how could i not love sappho?
lem119's review against another edition
4.0
In this collection of poetry, Bliss Carman imagines the words of the Greek poet Sappho, whose work has mostly been lost. The book is structured as a series of poems (one hundred), as if written by Sappho, using fragments of her surviving work. Carman seems to do well in capturing her voice and perspective. The result if a lovely, imaginative set of poems, mostly focused on love and the beauty of nature.
naomisdumpster's review against another edition
5.0
This made me feel despite the fragments the emotions and yerning is so thick I could taste it and it was sweet lol I loved this so much I have no words will read again with a more critical lense but I laughed a bit at how relatable and or absurd (but not really) it was, all in all, would recommend. I will probably purchase a physical copy I loved it so much.
emilyjmead's review against another edition
A very interesting attempt at trying to recreate Sappho's poetry.
eralon's review against another edition
3.0
I knew that of Sappho’s poetry there remained only a few fragments. As I read this book I thought, this is not as little as I thought... and I was pretty bored. Only after I finished did I realize that this was Bliss Carmen’s attempt to fill in what a full collection of Sappho’s poetry might have been like. So then I googled the original fragments and sure enough, there’s almost nothing. While some of the poems were lovely, I feel like I wasted a little bit of my life. A male poet in 1907 is probably quite a bit substantively different than the original woman poet in 600 BC, but I guess it was a serious attempt at applying his knowledge of the era and contemporary accounts of her poetry.
mina_m's review against another edition
3.0
*3.5
I feel as if there was not enough of Sappho in this. Of course, regardless of how you approach the remains of her work there will never be enough of Sappho, but I did find it difficult to discern which parts were translations and which parts were Carman's own creations.
I feel as if there was not enough of Sappho in this. Of course, regardless of how you approach the remains of her work there will never be enough of Sappho, but I did find it difficult to discern which parts were translations and which parts were Carman's own creations.
summernightbooks's review against another edition
3.0
“I seek and desire,
Even as the wind
That travels the plain
And stirs in the bloom
Of the apple-tree.
I wander through life,
With the searching mind
That is never at rest,
Till I reach the shade
Of my lover's door.”
Este libro es una colección de cien poemas (o “lyrics”) de la poeta Safo de Lesbos, quien vivió en la antigua Grecia y la cual fue considerada por Platón como la Décima Musa.
“If death be good,
Why do the gods not die?
If life be ill,
Why do the gods still live?
If love be naught,
Why do the gods still love?
If love be all,
What should men do but love?”
Sus poemas me parecieron bellísimos y ligeros, y me transportaron a tardes de primavera bajo el sol del Mediterráneo entre amantes. Se nota que fueron escritos en la Antigüedad, porque hace mención a dioses y deidades de la época constantemente. A pesar de que todos los poemas son prácticamente iguales, igualmente me parecieron muy bellos, sensibles y delicados.
“For I am eager, and the flame of life
Burns quickly in the fragile lamp of clay.
Passion and love and longing and hot tears
Consume this mortal Sappho, and too soon
A great wind from the dark will blow upon me,
And I be no more found in the fair world,
For all the search of the revolving moon
And patient shine of everlasting stars.”
Even as the wind
That travels the plain
And stirs in the bloom
Of the apple-tree.
I wander through life,
With the searching mind
That is never at rest,
Till I reach the shade
Of my lover's door.”
Este libro es una colección de cien poemas (o “lyrics”) de la poeta Safo de Lesbos, quien vivió en la antigua Grecia y la cual fue considerada por Platón como la Décima Musa.
“If death be good,
Why do the gods not die?
If life be ill,
Why do the gods still live?
If love be naught,
Why do the gods still love?
If love be all,
What should men do but love?”
Sus poemas me parecieron bellísimos y ligeros, y me transportaron a tardes de primavera bajo el sol del Mediterráneo entre amantes. Se nota que fueron escritos en la Antigüedad, porque hace mención a dioses y deidades de la época constantemente. A pesar de que todos los poemas son prácticamente iguales, igualmente me parecieron muy bellos, sensibles y delicados.
“For I am eager, and the flame of life
Burns quickly in the fragile lamp of clay.
Passion and love and longing and hot tears
Consume this mortal Sappho, and too soon
A great wind from the dark will blow upon me,
And I be no more found in the fair world,
For all the search of the revolving moon
And patient shine of everlasting stars.”
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