The Poems of Sappho

from joririchardson

When I first flipped through this short book of Ancient Greek poetry, I was struck by a vague feeling of wary doubt that I would enjoy it. All of the poems were so short, and most that I glanced over seemed vague and pointless. However, I decided to read the entire book aloud to myself one day......

from LisaMaria_C

Sappho is the great lyric poet of antiquity. Plato called her the "tenth muse." Her poems were preserved until nearly A.D 1000, at least according to A Book of Woman Poets, "when a wrathful church destroyed whatever it could find. In 1073 her writings were publicly burned in Rome and Constantinop...

from danlai

I'd be lying if I said that love isn't one of my favorite subjects.It's obvious that Sappho is a wonderfully gifted poet. I wish that I could read the poems in their entirety, but sometimes the mystery of what is lost adds to their beauty. Who cannot wonder of what she speaks of in this fragment?...

from Olivia_Atlet_Writer

I adore Sappho and her beautiful poems, and this rating is not for her work, but for the translation of Mary Barnard. I find it to be more of an interpretation of Sappho's work, aiming for the stylistic aspects more than the literal translations. She captures the voice of Sappho, like a hum or so...

from a211423

The best translation of Sappho I have ever read. Ms. Barnard has maticulously translated the fragments without embellishments or popular nuances which some other translations seem compelled to do.