“I would not th…

“I would not think to touch the sky with two arms” –Sappho

from “Fragments of Sappho” translated by Anne Carson

Fragments of Sappho

I read “If Not, Winter Fragments of Sappho” way too quickly.

I couldn’t help it; it’s not a dense text because it is truly fragments of Sappho and Anne Carson’s translation is very light.  Her word choice is simple and beautiful, and her use of brackets to denote missing matter make it feel airy and the formatting does too. It challenges the reader and leaves plenty of room to stretch out the imagination.

There are really interesting fragments like the one found on page 23:

 

]

]thought

]barefoot

]

 

And there are wonderful chunks of poetry:

“I would rather see her lovely step / and the motion of light on her face / than chariots of Lydians or ranks / of footsoldiers  in arms.” (29)

 

I just barely started going through the Notes section of this book: Carson did an amazing job on this book, and the notes reveal a detailed and deep understanding of the subject. For this part, I will slow down the pace and really absorb this part. And I will go back through and explore the book at leisure.

“If Not, Winter–Fragments of Sappho” translated by Anne Carson

I can’t wait to read this…