If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho Paperback - 2003

Summary

From the jacket flap

Of the nine books of lyrics the ancient Greek poet Sappho is said to have composed, only one poem has survived complete. The rest are fragments. In this miraculous new translation, acclaimed poet and classicist Anne Carson presents all of Sappho's fragments, in Greek and in English, as if on the ragged scraps of papyrus that preserve them, inviting a thrill of discovery and conjecture that can be described only as electric--or, to use Sappho's words, as "thin fire . . . racing under skin." By combining the ancient mysteries of Sappho with the contemporary wizardry of one of our most fearless and original poets, If Not, Winter provides a tantalizing window onto the genius of a woman whose lyric power spans millennia.

Excerpt

Fragment 22

]
]work
]face
]
]
if not, winter
]no pain
]
]I bid you sing
of Gongyla, Abanthis, taking up
your lyre as (now again) longing
floats around you.

you beauty. For her dress when you saw it
stirred you. And I rejoice.
In fact she herself once blamed me
Kyprogeneia

because I prayed
this word:
I want


Fragment 47
Eros shook my
mind like a mountain wind falling on oak trees


Fragment 52

I would not think to touch the sky with two arms


Fragment 56

not one girl I think
who looks on the light of the sun
will ever
have wisdom
like this

Fragment 147


someone will remember us
I say
even in another time


Fragment 162

with what eyes?

Media reviews

“[Sappho’s] verse has been elevated to new heights in [this] gorgeous translation.” —The New York Times

“This Sappho is whispering in our ear in a language we can understand.” —Time Out New York

“Carson is in many ways [Sappho’s] ideal translator. . . . Her command of language is honed to a perfect edge and her approach to the text, respectful yet imaginative, results in verse that lets Sappho shine forth.” —Los Angeles Times

“A selfless, faithful, and boldly delicate achievement.” —Boston Review

Citations

• Women's Review of Books, 01/01/2004, Page 8