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A review by jose_kg
Stung with Love: Poems and Fragments by Sappho
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
I absolutely adore these translations by Poochigian. I've read other translations that are probably more word for word accurate to the originals, but I feel that he has really found the essence of the poems and translated them so that a modern audience can appreciate that.
The poems are lush and lively, so full of relatable human experiences despite the thousands of years between them being written and now. Sappho has an incredible eye for what connects us all and her boldness in talking about female desire and despair is wonderfully refreshing.
I read these fragments originally about 10 years ago and have recently reread them, I found that 10 years on I was struck by her lines on aging and her expression of the complicated feelings around feeling older, reminiscing on youth, yearning for the past but also not wanting to return to it. This was clearly something I didn't relate to when I first read it at 22! This highlights how much is in these short fragments, there is so much to connect to for people at different places and ages in their lives.
I highly recommend this book and Poochigian's introduction and notes are very clear and helpful for adding context for those that may be new to Ancient Greek literature or just want more specific context about Sappho's life and words.
The poems are lush and lively, so full of relatable human experiences despite the thousands of years between them being written and now. Sappho has an incredible eye for what connects us all and her boldness in talking about female desire and despair is wonderfully refreshing.
I read these fragments originally about 10 years ago and have recently reread them, I found that 10 years on I was struck by her lines on aging and her expression of the complicated feelings around feeling older, reminiscing on youth, yearning for the past but also not wanting to return to it. This was clearly something I didn't relate to when I first read it at 22! This highlights how much is in these short fragments, there is so much to connect to for people at different places and ages in their lives.
I highly recommend this book and Poochigian's introduction and notes are very clear and helpful for adding context for those that may be new to Ancient Greek literature or just want more specific context about Sappho's life and words.