If Not Winter: Discover the Fragments of Sappho

Love: The book was in amazing condition.

United States on Jul 24, 2023

J. Michael Wine: I love the layout of this book that allows me to read the Greek text on one side and the English on the other. And this English rendering is lovely and accurate. Enjoy!

United States on Apr 11, 2023

ggw: we really need to know what is really there because no other world historic artist - except perhaps apelles - is so unknown and legendary as sappho

Sweden on Apr 09, 2023

BF: The book includes both the original greek and the translation, and it's layed out in such an ingenious way that, even though a lot of the poems are incomplete and some only have one or two words that had survived, every word is still very impactful. I can't think of any way this could have been done better. Definitely recommend!

Canada on Mar 17, 2023

uzana: one wants to start a lyrics for a infinite song that sounds like river with many pussies

Germany on Sep 08, 2022

Eduarda Mariano Eduarda Mariano : The media could not be loaded.

Brazil on Jul 21, 2022

Anon: I love this book of poetry fragments. But fragments is what they are. Historians have precious little of Sappho's poetry and ONLY ONE IS A COMPLETE POEM. I see a few reviews upset at what they end up getting, but this is simply all there is. There are huge pieces missing, making most of the poems difficult if not impossible to glean much meaning from. I really love how the translator has used brackets to illustrate how much is missing, as well as the choice to present each fragment separately. It really gives me the sense of how much time has passed, lost history, and context that I think is important to enjoying this text. Reading this is like hearing a song being played rooms away, you hear bits and pieces and can kind of make it out and understand the idea, but you cannot hear the whole song. Make sure you understand what this book is before you buy it so you are not disappointed, it is not a book of poetry like we are used to.

United States on Oct 13, 2021

wjdan: I loved this book it arrived in a very good form. My only main issue is that the book wasn’t translated in the proper way.

United States on Jan 27, 2021

HHS: utilisé à des fins de travail, en regard des versions anglaises et française.
Belle réussite de mise en anglais. Lisible et poétique.

France on Jun 19, 2019

Segv: I keep several translations of Sappho at hand, since each translator brings her (or his) own perspective to the fragments, and my Ancient Greek is not good enough to second-guess a single translator. Amongst these, Carson seems to be the only one with the original Greek en-face, and with a whole page dedicated to each fragment.

In terms of the translation itself, Carson's is usually my favorite, with Powell's a close second. Her translations are more direct than others', which can sometimes yield unusual phrasing in English, but Sappho's intensely personal expression comes through all the more clearly this way. See, for example, fragment 138:

Carson:
stand to face me beloved
and open out the grace of your eyes

Powell:
But stand before me, if you are my friend,
and spread the grace that's in your eyes.

Barnstone:
Stand and face me, my love,
and scatter the grace in your eyes

Rayor & Lardinois:
Stand before me as a friend
and flaunt the charm in your eyes.

In terms of Sappho herself—or what we have left of her, she is an easy poet to fall in love with. Her songs, mostly love songs, ring as true...

United States on Feb 12, 2019