If Not, Winter
Fragments of Sappho
Anne Carson
The complete extant work of the Greek poet Sappho, in a new translation by Anne Carson. Sappho lived on the island of Lesbos from about 630BC. She was a musical genius who devoted her life to composing and performing songs. Of the nine books of lyrics Sappho is said to have composed, none of the music is extant and only one poem has survived complete. All the rest are fragments. In ‘If Not, Winter,’ Anne Carson presents all of Sappho’s fragments in Greek and English. Brackets and space give the reader a sense of what is absent as well as what is present on the papyrus. Carson’s translation illuminates Sappho’s reflections on love, desire, exile, cushions, bees, old age, shame, time, chickpeas and many other aspects of the human situation.
If Not, Winter irresistibly combines the ancient mysteries of Sappho with the contemporary wizardry of acclaimed poet and classicist Anne Carson in what is sure to become the standard translation of Sappho for our time. Presented with the Greek on facing pages, her verses appear here as if on the ragged scraps of papyrus that preserve them. Together with Carson’s introduction and notes, they provide a tantalizing window into Sappho’s genius.
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Details
| ISBN | 1844080811 |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Publication Date | 06-Nov-03 |
| Publisher | Virago Press |
| Format | Trade Paperback |
| No. of Pages | 402 |
| Language | English |
| Rating | NotRated |
| BookID | 5772 |
