You might have seen my review of Come Close this past January. It was a nice introduction to Sappho, but I was disappointed in the lack of context & footnotes on the translation.

Thankfully, fate has been kind to me lately.

Her timing was immaculate.

This new edition of Sappho’s complete works was released at the beginning of February & I rushed to purchase a paper copy to annotate.

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SYNOPSIS

Sappho, the earliest and most famous Greek woman poet, sang her songs around 600 BCE on the island of Lesbos. Of what survives from the approximately nine papyrus scrolls collected in antiquity, all is translated here: substantial poems and fragments, including three poems discovered in the last two decades. The power of Sappho’s poetry ‒ her direct style, rich imagery, and passion ‒ is apparent even in these remnants. Diane Rayor’s translations of Greek poetry are graceful, modern in diction yet faithful to the originals. Sappho’s voice is heard in these poems about love, friendship, rivalry, and family. In the introduction and notes, André Lardinois plausibly reconstructs Sappho’s life and work, the performance of her songs, and how these fragments survived. This second edition incorporates thirty-two more fragments primarily based on Camillo Neri’s 2021 Greek edition and revisions of over seventy fragments.

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REVIEW

I was so pleased with this collection. Context makes a huge difference, when you’re studying poetry from different centuries.

I loved learning that the word “bittersweet” was used by Sappho in the reverse order: “sweetbitter” and I loved seeing how bitter/cruel she could sound towards those she loved. My favourite fragments were those that felt like revenge curses.

I was so glad for the translation notes specifying when certain Greek words used were gender-neutral, allowing me to make my own interpretations. I’ve always thought of Sappho as a lesbian (it’s what everyone told me!), but discovered it’s not that simple. I found no indications she exclusively loved women. To me, she comes across as a person who falls for human beings regardless of gender.

I loved the poems about her golden-haired daughter Kleïs.

The only thing that could improve this book would be to include the original Greek words next to their translations. Or pictures of the fragments to show how the text was arranged on the page.

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My favourite fragment: [55] When you die you’ll lie dead. No memory of you, / no desire will survive, since you’ve no share / in the Pierian roses. But once flown away / you’ll wander among the obscure dead, / invisible even in the house of Hades.

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