From the critically acclaimed poet & classicist Anne Carson a brilliant new translation of the work of Sappho together with the original Greek During her life on the island of Lesbos Sappho is said to have composed nine books of lyrics Only one poem has survived complete In IF NOT WINTER Carson presents all the extant fragments of Sappho's verse employing brackets & white space to denote missing text
- allowing the reader to imagine the poems as they were written Carson says of her method of translation 'I like to think that the more I stand out of the way the more Sappho shows through' & certainly her translation illuminates Sappho's reflections on love & desire her companions & rivals the goddess Aphrodite her own daughter Kleis IF NOT WINTER gives us an extraordinary ancient poet brought alive by a brilliantly empathetic contemporary poet Complete with Carson's introduction & notes it will become the standard translation of Sappho for our time