If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

Subtle yet excellent, the stars do shine, a sublime limelight on the stage of Sapphic understanding. Anne Carson's book: "If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho," is my introduction to the story of early Greek poetry, I am enjoying it as I continue to read. Working with fragments cannot be easy, but to translate it without being tempted to reinterpret it makes my trust in Ms. Carson's ability important. I trust her very much. As a poet, she has an ear on the lyrical, the music of the original must be influential. I do not speak Greek, so I cannot write from a "full" perspective, only to say I am glad to have her book in my library.2/26/15 Additional commentary: How well written, and the genius of the personal, I read online and at the encyclopedia (Wiki) that Sappho was a master of personal poetry, that she connected to individuals as opposed to groups, like a poet to an individual reader... How important it truly is that one need not be a reader of Greek language to appreciate the subtle genius of Sappho and Ms. Carson in the briefest of fragments. For example, fragment 176, page 349, the fragment reads: "lyre, lyre, lyre". The Greek reads three words, similar, yet spelt subtly different, almost as if "lyre, liar, lier" We don't know, but Ms. Carson understands. A good mystery piques our interest!Allen Hagar

This book transformed me in that Anne Carson's poetic translation of the great Sappho inspired me to write poetry! I received permission to use seven of her translated fragments for seven of my poems in my first book 36 POEMS OF ME.Forever grateful 🙏

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 belovedand open out the grace of your eyesPowell: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 eyesRayor & Lardinois:Stand before me as a friendand 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 today as 2600 years ago. In a good translation, they sound as fresh as if they were off top-40 radio... except no modern singer-songwriter is this good. She has the intense and insistent sensuality of Cavafy as well as his easy mixing of the mundane with the mythical, the sweet sadness of Joan Baez along with her self-aware wry humor, a sharper blade for her rivals than any rap battle, and expresses the depth of feelings as clearly as Shakespeare's sonnets. It is infuriating that so little of her work has survived.I hope that Carson will publish an updated edition including the recently discovered papyri.

This is the best and most complete translation of Sappho available. A must for anyone interested in her poetry (which everyone ought to be).

As a non-poet, non-reader-of-Greek, what appeals is the grace of the translation and the Notes. Ah, the notes! Enjoyable and practical. Want to learn how to condemn a rival to oblivion for eternity with just a twist of a verb's tense? Read the notes.

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.

Sadly, much of Sappho's work is lost to the ages. Fortunately, Anne Carson has translated what survives in a wonderful, comprehensive collection. All of Sappho's extant works are here in a dual-language book - the original Greek on one page, Carson's translations on the other. Having read several translations (I do not read Greek), Carson's is my favorite - the images are immeadiate, the sense of urgency and romance clearly communicated in lyric prose. Some apparently are frustrated by the equal attention Carson gives to each fragment - remnants of poems (even a single word) are given their own page just as longer bits. I enjoyed this, wondering what has been lost, haunted by a voice over 2,000 years old, marveling at the beauty of what remains. If you, like me, are a lover of poetry, I highly recommend this collection above all other translations.

The compilation and formatting by Anne Carson is wonderful. Each fragment is presented in both Greek and English, side by side, and bracketed to show the portions of text that are missing. The ordering of the fragments creates a lyrical flow through the compilation, and gives it the feel of visual poetry. Lastly, the introduction and footnotes are informative and well written, filling in context that has been lost through history.