Sappho–Wind—Mountain—Oak: The Poems of Sappho

Beachy-Quick (Variations on Dawn and Dusk) seeks “to apprentice myself to the rites of [Sappho of Lesbos’s] voice” in this fine gathering of the ancient Greek poet’s surviving lyrics. He positions one fragment per page, some merely one or two words long, such as “Andromeda” or “washing soda.” Pieces on clothing, passion, music, jealousy, memory, old age, and death are ordered to evoke a life’s progression. While replicating some of the rhythms of the original “Sapphic” meter, Beachy-Quick conveys the layered meanings of the Greek with invented compounds: “Deepthroned darkcarved wood deathless Aphrodite,/ wilewaving child of Zeus, I beg, I pray to you.” In one well-known poem, he substitutes the present tense (“Someone keeps us in mind/ I say/ in time yet to come”) for what other translators have placed in the future. His introduction is both poetic and historical, and the absence of scholarly notes rightfully allows these poems to speak for themselves. This joins the ranks of other strong translations of Sappho’s works, including Mary Barnard’s 1958 volume. (Mar.)