The Love Songs of Sappho: Translated with an Essay by Paul Roche

by Sappho, Paul Roche (Translator), Page duBois (Introduction)

Called the "Tenth Muse" by the ancients, Greece's greatest female lyric poet Sappho (ca. 610-580 b.c.e.) spent the majority of her life on the famed island of Lesbos. Passionate and breathtaking, Sappho's poems survive only in fragments following religious conspiracies to silence her. Sappho penned immortal verse on the intense power of the female libido; on the themes of romance, love, yearning, heartbreak, and personal relationships with women. This work retains the standard numerical order of the fragments and has been arranged in six sections. Distinguished poet and lecturer Paul Roche’s translation of The Love Songs of Sappho is enhanced with his brilliant essay, “Portrait of Sappho,” as well as a lucid historical introduction by celebrated feminist and classicist Page duBois.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, LGBT, Queer, Romance, Art, Lesbian

251 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Work of Greek lyric poet Sappho, noted for its passionate and erotic celebration of the beauty of young women and men, after flourit circa 600 BC and survives only in fragments.

Ancient history poetry texts associate Sappho (Σαπφώ or Ψάπφω) sometimes with the city of Mytilene or suppose her birth in Eresos, another city, sometime between 630 BC and 612 BC. She died around 570 BC. People throughout antiquity well knew and greatly admired the bulk, now lost, but her immense reputation endured.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sappho

Reviews

[s ☭ · Rating 5 out of 5]

”the understanding gods evoke tears”

sappho’s poetry is beautiful, really. sometimes it’s lyrical and delicate but other times it’s vindictive, full of unbridled angst and, of course, lesbian yearning !!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

”And once dead
I shall not be forgotten.”

I’ve never read such ancient work that felt so relatable and alive. It’s such a shame so much of Sappho’s work has been destroyed, but everything in this collection was beautiful!

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

My delight is the exquisite.
Yes, for me,
Glitter and sunlight and love
Are one society.
So I shall not go creeping away
To die in the dark:
I shall go on living with you,
Loving and loved.
[from #158]

The Love Songs of Sappho (translated by Paul Roche) is made of Six Books with 171 fragments and full poems. Few of Sappho's poems come to us in their entirety and that is unfortunate. It is unfortunate because what little remains shows Sappho to be a master of the lyric form--providing passionate passages full of the joy of life and loving as well as pain, sorrow, jealousy and regret associated with love unreciprocated or gone wrong. Her words are memorable even when they aren't all there. Roche provides a beautiful translation as well as a very informative essay which gives us as full a portrait of the classic poet as possible.

Posted on my blog My Reader's Block.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to pick this up out of some sort of lesbian duty, combined with a general interest (usually left unexplored) in classical Greek literature. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it, but now I adore Sappho. Despite the inherent translation obstacles, the song fragments are beautiful and simple.

I can't compare this edition to others, but it seems to be a good introduction to Sappho. The supplemental essays and appendices give the reader a general overview of the poet's life, her influence on her contemporaries, her legacy throughout history, the singularity of her style, and a sense of what we lose in translation.

[Ryn Baginski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sappho really likes nightingales. And women. And sex. And her daughter. Had fun reading these snippets of Sappho’s poetry.

[milana · Rating 2 out of 5]

beautiful poetry and illustrations but blatantly misogynistic intro and dull translation- sapphos homosexuality is dismissed by assuring the reader she is not “malicious” or a “pervert” (to paraphrase)

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

To truly appreciate the wonder of Sappho's writing, one has to understand her history and know the background of this amazing poetess. What has to be realized is that her poetry was the first of its kind, the first of the love poems, the first of the lyric poems, and the first poems of human experiences which feel so real, it's remarkable how relevant they are today.

Sappho was called the "tenth muse" and these words do not fail to describe the pure majesty of her writing. And although it grieves me this time to say, I unfortunately do not know what ancient tongue she recorded her poetry in because from what I've heard, it was pure genius, and as my professor once said, "Translation is like a mistress. It is either beautiful or faithful, but not both." And it saddens me in this sense how I will never be able to truly appreciate it in its true form, but in all honesty, even in its translated form it still reverberates something deep within me that I cannot deny. Poetry tends to do that to people.

But really what astounds me is the pure love, jealousy, reverence, regret, and pain is written within the lines of her prose. It speaks volumes to the modern reader because everything she's written down came from her own personal life.

And I found it miraculous above all, how it was a woman who found all of this. Ancient civilizations were notorious for being male-dominated, and so Sappho being so revered even in her own time gives one just a small impression of what impact she had.

I love her poetry. Hands down, one of my favourite poets.

Even if all we have left of her are fragmented poems, I still admire each fragment I've read because this material is amazing to behold.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

LVI

"It can never be mine
To sit in the door in the sun
And watch the world go by,
A pageant and a dream.

For I was born for love
And fashioned for desire,
Beauty, passion, and joy,
And sorrow and unrest;

And with all things of earth
Eternally must I go
Daring the perilous bourn
Of joyance and death,

A strain of song by night,
A shadow on the hill,
A hint of odorous grass,
A murmur of the sea."

[Shani Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always been a bit wary of poetry since the stuff I had to study in school was so terrible, but then I stumbled upon The Anactoria Poem. Sappho is a genius and writes such heartbreaking and true things about what it is to be a woman, to be angry and to feel in love. I loved every single poem in this book.

[Aspiring · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given this 5 stars if the translator had included the original Greek side-by-side to the English translation (on the opposite/opposing pages). I need to find a copy that has this so I can appreciate what it originally sounded like when spoken/sung.

[BumbleBeaBookery · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had to abandon it - obviously the poetry of Sappho is gorgeous , this is NOT a negative review about her. Unfortunately though, the essays were uninspired and drab. Better off just reading fragments without a droning outdated narration.

[Faith · Rating 2 out of 5]

The translations and timeline were the stars of this work, and to that, I give it its flowers. However, it didn't stop me from wanting to smash my head into a wall every time Roche denounces Sappho's queerness, although that is to be expected with the date of publication. sigh.

[S. B. Letham · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to the classic poetry of Sappho. I find myself wanting more and looking for other translations and scholarship.

[Mckenzie Ragan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come.

[s.l.j. · Rating 4 out of 5]

five stars to miss sappho herself, these poems blew me away, man.
one star to mr homophobe, i know this was written in like the 1950s but you still get one star.

[Jena · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poetry was fantastic but the essays were a bit difficult to read.

[Maeve Mehigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m blushing…

[Mari Crisler · Rating 5 out of 5]

yearning

[Teresa Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would be 5 stars but for Paul Roche's intro "Portrait of Sappho"

[Roxy · Rating 5 out of 5]

five stars for Sappho.
I’m never going to stop thinking about poem 27.
The essays were a bit drab though.

[Colomba · Rating 4 out of 5]

me cuesta mucho leer poesía
(más aún en Inglés)
pero la sappho es maravillosa, por más que la mayoría de sus poemas estén incompletos, creo que te dan un poquito de todo en tan pocas líneas

[Marisol Kochan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great translation, you can really feel how music was meant to accompany the original poems

[kylajaclyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I discovered Sappho's poetry in my world literature class, and I think she is quite brilliant. The only other person who can write short poems with such meaning is Dorothy Parker (I'm not talking about haikus). It's a shame that so little exists of Sappho's work, but we are quite lucky to have anything at all. The Greek mythology is often heavy, but beyond that her lines resonate with an undeniable universalism.

[Peregrine 12 · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as ancient poetry goes, this was pretty good. Some of Sappho's allusions to love and lust were pretty steamy, too, if I may say so (in a nerdy 'I dig this ancient book' kind of way). I read this as part of a Greek studies class, and it's the only book I kept after graduation. Yay, Sappho.

[pldn💫]

A bit outdated (not in the claiming sappho was straight way, but in the new fragments of sappho have been discovered since this translation was published so now it’s incomplete way)
Absolute beautiful illustrations though

[Cassa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not sure which version/translation I read, but this cover looks closest. I adore Sappho's work, every word.

[Rebekah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did really like the last poem in the collection “Life Slips By” and poem 5 “Last Night I said to Him”

[Christina Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a reason the Greeks called her "the ninth muse." Her poetry is raw and pulls at your heart strings.

[Freidia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sappho, popular for her love songs is presented through her lyrics expressing her most genuine of passions and emotions.

[⚢ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come but my favorite Sappho book by far