A review by hbermudes
Sappho by Sappho

So I'm not going to rate an ancient greek poet's only known lyric fragments, but I'll comment on Mary Barnard's translation. She has a very direct approach and is transparent about this. She claims to not add embellishments or anything to make the writing more /poetic/, preferring to let the poems remain direct and simple, "as they were written". With translation of poetry- especially ancient greek poetry- it's impossible to really get at the true character of it all.
I found the discussion of who Sappho was unsatisfying because of the way sexuality was danced around. However, Barnard didn't offer a definitive "she /was/ this, she /wasn't/ this," which I appreciate. It is amazing to me how people continue to write about Sappho of Lesbos without using the words sapphic or lesbian.