Saturday, July 10, 2010

Classical Women Poets

Just finished this all-too short book translated and introduced by Josephine Baker. It was really interesting to read the work of female classical poets in addition to Sappho. It is truly a shame that more work by women from this period did not survive. I became reacquainted with some of Sappho's best. She said so much in just a mere fragment. Like this one:

Love shook my heart
like the wind on the mountain
rushing over the oak trees

And I met a new friend in Praxilla:

[in love
beware:]
a scorpion waits
under every stone

It made me wish that this volume of fragments had been much longer. Three and a half stars out of five.

{Please note that the spacing on the fragments is not as given in the book. I do not seem to be able to get it to cooperate with me.}

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