Description

Diane Rayor's graceful translations and André Lardinois's thorough introduction and notes present the best combination of intelligibility, information, and poetry. Sappho, the earliest and most famous Greek woman poet, lived around 600 BCE on the island of Lesbos. Her woman-centered poetry is direct in style, rich in imagery, and full of passion. All that survives is collected here, including a recently discovered poem. Sappho, the earliest and most famous Greek woman poet, lived around 600 BCE on the island of Lesbos. Her woman-centered poetry is direct in style, rich in imagery, and full of passion. All that survives is collected here, including a recently discovered poem. Sappho, the earliest and most famous Greek woman poet, sang her songs around 600 BCE on the island of Lesbos. Of the little that survives from the approximately nine papyrus scrolls collected in antiquity, all is translated here: substantial poems, fragments, single words - and, notably, five stanzas of a poem that came to light in 2014. Also included are new additions to five fragments from the latest discovery, and a nearly complete poem published in 2004. 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 and poetic, modern in diction yet faithful to the originals. The full range of Sappho's voice is heard in these poems about desire, friendship, rivalry, family, and 'passion for the light of life'. In the introduction and notes, internationally respected Sappho scholar André Lardinois presents plausible reconstructions of Sappho's life and work, the importance of the recent discoveries in understanding the performance of her songs, and the story of how these fragments survived. Acknowledgments; Introduction; Note on translation; Sappho; Notes; Selected bibliography. 'Even the tiniest scraps can be potent, as Rayor's lucid and comprehensive translation makes clear … Diane J. Rayor captures the distinctively plainspoken quality of Sappho's Greek, which, for all the poet's naked emotionality and love of luxe, is never overwrought or baroque.' Daniel Mendelsohn, The New Yorker 'For readers who want a complete, up-to-date collection of all Sappho's extant oeuvre in faithful and cautious English translation, this new edition, by two acclaimed classical scholars, is currently the sole satisfactory option … Almost everything an undergraduate or interested lay reader requires to embark on a first voyage into Sappho's world can be found within this elegant volume.' Edith Hall, The New York Review of Books 'Rayor's translations allow the poetry of Sappho to shine. Every piece of what remains of Sappho's songs is reproduced here, including the most recent discoveries, thereby providing the reader with the most comprehensive English collection available. A wonderful and inspiring work.' Marguerite Johnson, University of Newcastle, Australia 'This book joins an eloquent translation of Sappho's wide range of expression with a judicious guide to problems of text and interpretation. The combination provides a reliable and enjoyable introduction to Sappho's poetry and a firm basis for discussion of the many responses it has evoked.' Joel Lidov, City University of New York 'Diane Rayor's translation captures the quality of Sappho's poetry: seemingly simple, but luminous, with unexpected shifts of perspective that change the meaning. Neither too literal nor too free