Poets to Know - Sappho

You may know Sappho as the origin of the word saphic, meaning related to the romantic love between women. She's also the reason lesbians are called such, being from the isle of Lesbos. Sappho is often reduced to this admittedly fantastic legacy, and it does her work and our enjoyment a disservice. Aside from being the OG lesbian, Sappho was also a spectacular poet. She lived more than a thousand years ago, and we have only one of her complete poems, but even her fragments are spectacular enough to stand the test of time. 
Sappho's sexuality is endlessly debated, with people often thinking themselves in circles to imagine she was straight. She was not. She was definitely, like, definitely, into women. The vast majority of her poems were erotic, and of those, almost all addressed her attraction to women. She also wrote erotic poetry about men. So the OG lesbian might very well have been bi or pan. And yes, I believe in applying modern conventions. People are just uncomfortable saying things are gay. But we don't need to squabble. Her pleas to Aphrodite are a gift to all wlw. 
It's tragic that all many people know about Sappho is her sexuality, but it's also relevant. Many translators throughout history took it upon themselves to make it all straight. Many translations of fragment 102, to the right, depicted the object of the speaker's desire as a 'youth' or even a 'boy'. Other contortions include saying that it was all really platonic. More in the article above. Just gals being pals, am I right? 
Even now, among more modern translations I would consider to be of good quality, there is much variation. Consider two translations of Fragment 147. ​

​Fragment 147

Let me tell you this:
someone in some future time
will think of us

SAPPHO, TRANS MARY BARNARD

Fragment 147

someone will remember us
I say
even in another time

SAPPHO, TRANS ANNE CARSON

I confess a heavy bias for Carson's translation of this fragment. I have a heavy bias for Carson in general. If you can get her translation of anything, I generally think you should. I also have a soft spot for Barnard. My mother had a collection of her translations of Sappho. I'm told some of my first words were quoted from this volume, specifically Fragment 61, to the right. Imagine a somewhat eerie three year old with half a British accent reciting it with perfect timing. ​

Sappho, by John William Godward

Fragment 102

Sweet mother, I cannot weave – slender Aphrodite has overcome me with longing for a girl.

SAPPHO, TRANS DIANE RAYOR

Ancient fresco thought to depict Sappho

​Fragment 61

Pain penetrates
Me drop
by drop

SAPPHO, TRANS MARY BARNARD

Where to Start - ​

You can find a lot of Sappho's fragments in various translations online, and probably several versions in most local library systems. There's no wrong way to start with Sappho. If you're feeling particularly brave, you can even just check the Tumblr tag. There's no wrong way to love Sappho, either. ​