If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

Sappho was an archaic Greek lyric poet from the island of Lesbos, active around 600 BC. Ancient writers credited her with nine books of lyric poetry, but only one poem survives complete; the rest of her work is known from quotations by later authors and from fragments of papyrus. Anne Carson translated all of the surviving fragments, with the Greek on facing pages, in If Not, Winter (2002).

Anne Carson is a Canadian poet, essayist, translator, and classicist, widely regarded as one of the most important and influential poets writing in English. Born in Toronto, Ontario, she studied Classics at the University of Toronto, receiving her BA, MA, and PhD there. She has held academic positions at the University of Michigan, McGill University, New York University, and other institutions. Read more →