Sappho by Mary Barnard

by Mary Barnard

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Queer, Lesbian

Paperback Bunko

About the author

Mary Barnard was a prominent American poet, translator, and biographer with many books in her repertoire. She studied Greek at Reed College and began to translate at Ezra Pound's suggestion in the 1930s. Her Assault on Mount Helicon: A Literary Memoir was published by the University of California Press in 1984. Two years later she received the Western States Book Award for her book-length poem, Time and the White Tigress. She also published prose fiction and a volume of essays on mythology as well as the original lyrics gathered in Collected Poems.

Reviews

[S. Alberto ⁻⁷ (yearning) · Rating 5 out of 5]

sappho writing about ephemeral love >>>

Studying the classics gave me a lot. But Sappho? She gave me language for the feelings I didn’t know how to name. This translation by Mary Barnard is delicate and powerful, giving breath to fragments that somehow feel like entire worlds.

There’s something sacred in how Sappho writes about love—ephemeral, aching, and impossibly human. Her words don’t ask to be understood in full. They ask to be felt. And this translation honors that. Even in pieces, even in slivers, her voice feels alive.

Barnard doesn’t try to make Sappho overly lyrical in a modern way, but instead keeps the raw simplicity and sharp edge that makes her poetry feel so contemporary. It’s timeless, not just because it’s survived but because the emotion behind it—desire, longing, awe—is still the same now as it was then.

What’s so haunting to me is how much absence lives in these pages. Not just in the lost lines, but in the spaces between her words. A love remembered. A glance missed. A moment held too tightly that slips anyway. Sappho captured the heartbreak of impermanence like no one else.

This is the kind of book that makes you want to sit in silence after reading. That makes you underline a single line and stare at it for ten minutes. That reminds you that being moved doesn’t always require a full sentence—sometimes a fragment is more than enough.

5 stars because Sappho made me pay attention to fleeting beauty. Because Mary Barnard let her voice be heard again. And because I’ll always carry these lines with me.

[alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

"He is a god in my eyes—
the man who is allowed
to sit beside you—he

who listens intimately
to the sweet murmur of
your voice, the enticing

laughter that makes my own
heart beat fast."

It's such a treat to have a translation of a compilation of work from thousands of years ago. Her view of love and the world around her was so inherently raw and human. I know there are details and meanings lost with English translations and with time. And most of her poems are probably not exact to what we have all these years later. There's something beautiful about it.

Her poems were mostly only a couple of lines long. There were some that were a few stanzas, and no matter the length, they gave the reader a little glimpse into her life, her mind, and her surroundings. Short spurts of storytelling worked really well with her voice.

I think she would be overwhelmed by the fact that there is a whole facet of the queer identity named after her love of women.

Edit: Full review coming. I knew it was gonna be gay because of course, but WOW she loved women so much

[Tas · Rating 5 out of 5]

would recommend sitting in foyles and reading the overpriced anthologies - Barnards translation of sappho was beautiful

[Aazuto_Gh0st · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly I really enjoyed this as an intro to Sappho but I am rather saddened by the fact that it's not the greatest translation of her work.

[Matt Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

The simpler the translations of these fragments get, the easier it is to see the beauty within. The negative space is unintended, but there’s enough there to consume a lifetime.

[HaleKensington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good translation, no revisionist nonsense and read beautifully.

[Victoria Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I confess (6)
We heard them chanting (11)
It’s no use (12)
Cyprian, in my dream (21)
Bridesmaids’ carol I (31)
Lament for a maidenhead (34)
You know the place: then (37)
He is more than a hero (39)

Love to the point of worship. It’s overwhelming. It’s beautiful.



“He is a god in my eyes/ the man who is allowed to sit beside you/ he who listens intimately to the sweet murmur of your voice/ the enticing laughter that makes my own heart beat fast.”


Yes, Atthis, you may be sure (40)
I have heard not one word from her (42)





Sobbing.



“I said, Go, and be happy/ but remember (you know well) whom you leave shackled by love/ If you forget me, think of our gifts to Aphrodite and all the loveliness that we shared/ all the violet tiaras, braided rosebuds, dill and crocus twined around your young neck.”



Without warning (44)
If you will come (45)
Without warning (44)
Thank you, my dear (46) ♥️
I was so happy (47)
Afraid of losing you (54)
You will say (57)
Tell me (58)
You may forget but (60)
Tonight I’ve watched (64)
I ask you, sir, to (71)
Yes, it is pretty(73)
Really, Gorgo (79)
Rich as you are (82)
Experience shows us (86)

[mark foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite sometimes feeling distance from the ancients, Sappho's writing is remarkably charming and Barnard deserves credit for the accessibility in translation. Comparably to the more refined and over-translated antiquity pieces, Sappho's writing feels much more candid and unrefined and therefore much more human? Very pleasantly surprised. You can read the 100 fragments + notes in under an hour but I suspect I'll ruminate on them for much longer.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no idea why it’s taken me this long to read Sappho, I bought the book yesterday and read all the poems before bed. I really loved the simplicity and directness of this translation, less really is more in this case. Definitely want to dive into more translations of her work, she truly has gone down in history as a Sapphic legend.

[Annie Elizabeth Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty beautiful to read truly love Sappho’s writing

[Willow the wisp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful ,will definitely be reading more transitions of Sappho's work

[bella!! · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 want to read more translations and poems but oh my god what a wonderful writer

[Viviana Luna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely an older style of poetry hard to enjoy if you aren’t used to Shakespeare esk poems

[Adora M · Rating 5 out of 5]

she gets it

[Ashley Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Irresistible and bittersweet
that loosener of limbs, Love
reptile-like
strikes me down”

[Lexi · Rating 5 out of 5]

incredibly moving, it’s hard to imagine someone living so long ago and writing something that is still this relevant and touching, yet sappho did.

[Tao Zheng · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure what is so great about Sappho's poetry.
Perhaps much of the lyrical beauty is lost in translation.

[Matteo Ponzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Greek poetry. I've been told it is impossible to translate, but Barnard wrote a beautiful attempt.

[seaside · Rating 5 out of 5]

truly an icon for all us wlw poets 🩷

[sab · Rating 5 out of 5]

best thing we've read in world lit

[Leslie Gauthier · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite translation. Stunning

[Ariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

i wish there was more of sapphos work recovered, some of these seem like they could be very beautiful but i dont really understand the meaning without the context! ill need to do a more in depth reading at some point but this time i was just reading and getting a vibe for sappho