Review: The Complete Poems of Sappho

The Complete Poems of Sappho by Sappho
Translator: Willis Barnstone
Series: None
Published: 2006
Publisher: Shambhala
Pages: 224

Sappho’s thrilling lyric verse has been unremittingly popular for more than 2,600 years—certainly a record for poetry of any kind—and love for her art only increases as time goes on. Though her extant work consists only of a collection of fragments and a handful of complete poems, her mystique endures to be discovered anew by each generation, and to inspire new efforts at bringing the spirit of her Greek words faithfully into English. 

Our of all the Ancient Greek texts I read for my class, this was my favorite. It's astonishing to think that Sappho lived during the seventh century B.C. because her writings are so prevalent to modern day life.
If you love poetry, pick this book up. To give you an idea, I am especially found of all the Victorian poets, and while the themes of these works are very different, I love how Sappho strikes to the root of problems in her time. I think many people who read this will be very surprised. I know I was! I was completely astonished and literally laughing with glee as I began to put together what she was saying. Considering Sappho is the first female poet that we have records of, I was expecting something...timid. That is not what I got at all, and I honestly shouldn't be surprised when I consider that very few female poets are timid.

Besides the poems, I also throughly enjoyed additions in the back of the book that were other people writing about Sappho. Included here are Plato, Plutarch, Horace, and Aristotle, amongst many others. It's astonishing to read that many of these mean respected her, especially considering not only that she was a women, but the content of what she wrote. Many argue that she deserves a place right next to Homer, or on a separate pedestal since she is arguably the first recorded originator of lyric poetry. And I have to agree. These poems are something else, even if they are fragmentary - the editor did an excellent job arranging them. And while some might argue that the order they are arranged in only creates an illusion of narrative, I'm not sure it does. Many people would find the pattern otherwise, and the editor has simply made it easier to see. Either way, I highly encourage people to read it themselves to determine what they think on the matter.