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macklin's review
I read Sappho for the first time in first year of undergrad and mostly remember that she really liked ankles and we talked about it a lot in class. It’s been a long time since then and now I know her more for being gay. I came to these poems a very different person and it was interesting reading them again. Words that are not connected and passed through another person via translation. It definitely felt like scattered puzzle pieces but also each fragment also was it’s own self. I really love her descriptions of nature and relating them to the erotic.
mels_karsh's review
5.0
Super quick read. It probably could have been further condensed to save paper, but the way Carson has broken up the lines let’s the poetry breathe.
“Someone will remember us even in another time” strikes hard and true. I hope she rests well knowing that her work is still remembered.
“Someone will remember us even in another time” strikes hard and true. I hope she rests well knowing that her work is still remembered.
dadoodoflow's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
cryo_guy's review
5.0
Great translations! Carson includes the Greek on the opposite page, every poem/fragment gets its own page.
I don't have a lot to say about specifics, because let's be honest they're all excellent, but Carson does a great job replicating Sappho's lyricism in English. Notably, she handles the shorter (shortest) and the most fragmentary fragments expertly by simply leaving out the guesswork and presenting the poems with words dispersed through stanzas (the words that have remained).
Reading the poetry is great, but as always with Carson's works, I was enamored by her own comments in the short introduction and the commentary in the back which ranges from in-depth word analysis, manuscript backgrounds, comparing interpretation with ancient critics/poets (and modern ones too), and just a general sense of the kernel of wisdom that hides within Sappho, eclipsed by the many folds of the fabric that is her poetry. Also, there is a fun appendix in the back that cites various ancient authors who mention Sappho or Sappho-related things--definitely worth perusing.
Some of the ancient stuff I read is not as accessible as I'd like it to be, but I would say this is fairly accessible as a collection of translations--the only thing an inexperienced reader might want is more background on who Sappho was and her context; otherwise, if you're just looking for Sappho, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find better.
P.S. Here are the numbers of some of my favs(I started counting late so you can assume some of the more popular ones like 31): 94, 95, 104, 105(!), 120, 130, 137, 138, 158 (this one made me think): "with anger spreading in the chest / to guard against a vainly barking tongue"
In that aforementioned appendix of ancient authors my fav quote was:
"Aidos lives upon the eyelids of sensitive people, hybris upon those of the insensitive. An intelligent person knows this."
--Stobaios 4.230
I don't have a lot to say about specifics, because let's be honest they're all excellent, but Carson does a great job replicating Sappho's lyricism in English. Notably, she handles the shorter (shortest) and the most fragmentary fragments expertly by simply leaving out the guesswork and presenting the poems with words dispersed through stanzas (the words that have remained).
Reading the poetry is great, but as always with Carson's works, I was enamored by her own comments in the short introduction and the commentary in the back which ranges from in-depth word analysis, manuscript backgrounds, comparing interpretation with ancient critics/poets (and modern ones too), and just a general sense of the kernel of wisdom that hides within Sappho, eclipsed by the many folds of the fabric that is her poetry. Also, there is a fun appendix in the back that cites various ancient authors who mention Sappho or Sappho-related things--definitely worth perusing.
Some of the ancient stuff I read is not as accessible as I'd like it to be, but I would say this is fairly accessible as a collection of translations--the only thing an inexperienced reader might want is more background on who Sappho was and her context; otherwise, if you're just looking for Sappho, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find better.
P.S. Here are the numbers of some of my favs(I started counting late so you can assume some of the more popular ones like 31): 94, 95, 104, 105(!), 120, 130, 137, 138, 158 (this one made me think): "with anger spreading in the chest / to guard against a vainly barking tongue"
In that aforementioned appendix of ancient authors my fav quote was:
"Aidos lives upon the eyelids of sensitive people, hybris upon those of the insensitive. An intelligent person knows this."
--Stobaios 4.230
carpenoctumpoetry's review
5.0
I mean, there's a reason we're still reading Sappho literally thousands of years later... *screams in bisexual*
samidhak's review
4.0
“someone will remember us
I say
even in another time”
If you’re expecting poetry, then be ready to be disappointed. This book is literally fragments of Sappho’s writing. Her words on desire, emotion, festival, longing, and love.
It’s remarkable how we have access to Aristotle’s writing (albeit some of it is lost), Plato’s works, but when it comes to Sappho, who was a highly skilled musician and has been mentioned in numerous texts, we don’t have much of her work. Anne Carson does a wonderful job in brining yet another forgotten piece of women’s writing to the forefront by translating the only partially existing poetry written by Sappho. It’s a wonderful re-imagining of the words that are lost and the desire that Sappho radiates via her poems.
I say
even in another time”
If you’re expecting poetry, then be ready to be disappointed. This book is literally fragments of Sappho’s writing. Her words on desire, emotion, festival, longing, and love.
It’s remarkable how we have access to Aristotle’s writing (albeit some of it is lost), Plato’s works, but when it comes to Sappho, who was a highly skilled musician and has been mentioned in numerous texts, we don’t have much of her work. Anne Carson does a wonderful job in brining yet another forgotten piece of women’s writing to the forefront by translating the only partially existing poetry written by Sappho. It’s a wonderful re-imagining of the words that are lost and the desire that Sappho radiates via her poems.