If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

If Not, Winter: Fragments of SapphoBy 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. 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

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.

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."

"Sappho's verse has been elevated to new heights in this] gorgeous translation." --The New York Times

"Carson is in many ways Sappho's] ideal translator....Her command of language is hones to a perfect edge and her approach to the text, respectful yet imaginative, results in verse that lets Sappho shine forth." --Los Angeles Times

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 08/12/2003
ISBN: 9780375724510
Pages: 416
Weight: 0.69lbs
Size: 8.11h x 5.21w x 0.92d

Review Citations: Women's Review of Books 01/01/2004 pg. 8