Sappho. A New Translation of the Complete Works

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014 — 184 p. — ISBN10: 1107023599; ISBN13: 978-1107023598. Translated by Diane J. Rayor. Introduction by André Lardinois.Sappho, the earliest and most famous Greek woman poet, sang her songs around 600 BCE on the island of Lesbos. Of the little that survives from the approximately nine papyrus scrolls collected in antiquity, all is translated here: substantial poems, fragments, single words - and, notably, five stanzas of a poem that came to light in 2014. Also included are new additions to five fragments from the latest discovery, and a nearly complete poem published in 2004. The power of Sappho’s poetry - her direct style, rich imagery, and passion - is apparent even in these remnants. Diane Rayor’s translations of Greek poetry are graceful and poetic, modern in diction yet faithful to the originals. The full range of Sappho’s voice is heard in these poems about desire, friendship, rivalry, family, and "passion for the light of life". In the introduction and notes, internationally respected Sappho scholar André Lardinois presents plausible reconstructions of Sappho’s life and work, the importance of the recent discoveries in understanding the performance of her songs, and the story of how these fragments survived. This is the only Sappho translation that contains all of the poems and fragments, including the most recent discoveries. This translation echoes Sappho's direct and graceful language, her range of tone and topic, and is also faithful to the Greek text and shows the gaps and textual uncertainties. Includes a note on translation, notes on the individual fragments, a selected bibliography, a photograph of the papyrus of the new Sappho poem, and a thorough introduction that provides the historical and cultural context for Sappho's performance.