BIBLIO is the largest independent book marketplace in the world, with over 100 million books.

Skip to content

IF NOT WINTER

IF NOT WINTER

IF NOT WINTER
Stock photo: cover may vary

IF NOT WINTER Pb - 2003

by SAPPHO

Add to wish list
  • Used
  • fair
  • Paperback

The poetry book of the year, "If Not, Winter" irresistibly combines the ancient mysteries of Sappho with the contemporary wizardry of acclaimed poet and classicist Anne Carson in what is sure to become the standard translation of Sappho.

Used - Fair

Description

pb. Fair. Obviously worn, but no text pages missing. May have highlighting and marginalia, but markings do not interfere with readability. Textbooks do not have accompanying CDs or access codes. Ships from an indie bookstore in NYC.
Ask the seller a question Add to wish list
A$21.86
A$8.31 Delivery within USA
Standard delivery: 2 to 9 days
More delivery options
Ships from Book Culture (New York, United States)
The BIBLIO Guarantee

Details

  • Title IF NOT WINTER
  • Author SAPPHO
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Condition Used - Fair
  • Pages 416
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Vintage, New York
  • Publication date 2003-08-12
  • Features Bibliography
  • Bookseller's Inventory # 9780375724510.u2
  • ISBN 9780375724510 / 0375724516
  • Weight 0.69 lbs (0.31 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.11 x 5.21 x 0.92 in (20.60 x 13.23 x 2.34 cm)
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: Ancient (To 499 A.D.)
    • Cultural Region: Greece
    • Sex & Gender: Feminine
    • Topical: Women's Interest
  • Category Poetry
  • Library of Congress subjects Women - Greece, Sappho
  • Dewey Decimal Code 884.2
  • Quantity available 48

About Book Culture New York, United States

Specialising in: Academic Books, Literature, Poetry, Used Books
Biblio member since 2021

Book Culture is an independent bookstore located in Morningside Heights in Manhattan and Long Island City in Queens.

Terms of Sale: 30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.

Browse books from Book Culture

Summary

A bilingual edition of the work of the Greek poet Sappho, in a new translation by Anne Carson.Sappho lived on the island of Lesbos from about 630 b.c. She was a musical genius who devoted her life to composing and performing songs. Of the nine books of lyrics Sappho is said to have composed, none of the music is extant and only one poem has survived complete. All the rest are fragments. In If Not, Winter Carson presents all of Sappho's fragments in Greek and in English. Brackets and space give the reader a sense of what is absent as well as what is present on the papyrus. Carson's translation illuminates Sappho's reflections on love, desire, marriage, exile, cushions, bees, old age, shame, time, chickpeas and many other aspects of the human situation.From the Hardcover edition.

Reader reviews for IF NOT WINTER

Write a review for this book

There are no reviews for this book yet. Be the first to write a review!

Your review will be anonymous unless you login or create an account first.

Overall rating
Remember: You’re rating the book as a work, not the seller or the condition of the specific copy you purchased!

Important Terms and Guidelines

  • Please focus on the book’s content and context. Also, add any personal comments as to how you enjoyed the book. Substantiate your likes and dislikes. You may make comparisons to other books.
  • Reviews must be at least 140 characters in length.
  • Please do not reveal critical plot elements.
  • This is not a help line. Contact customer support if you need help.
Your review must not include:
  • Obscenities, discriminatory language, or other insulting language not suitable for public domain
  • Advertisements, “spam” content, or references to other products, offers or websites.
  • Email addresses, URLs, phone numbers, physical addresses or other contact information.
  • Overly critical comments about other reviews or reviewers
  • Time-sensitive material (i.e. promotional tours, seminars, lectures, etc.)
  • Availability, price, or alternative ordering/shipping information

From the publisher

In this "gorgeous translation" (The New York Times), one of our most fearless and original poets provides a tantalizing window onto the genius of a woman whose lyric power spans millennia.

Of the nine books of lyrics the ancient Greek poet Sappho is said to have composed, only one poem has survived complete. The rest are fragments. In this miraculous new translation, acclaimed poet and classicist Anne Carson presents all of Sappho's fragments, in Greek and in English, as if on the ragged scraps of papyrus that preserve them, inviting a thrill of discovery and conjecture that can be described only as electric--or, to use Sappho's words, as "thin fire ... racing under skin."

"Carson is in many ways [Sappho's] ideal translator.... Her command of language is hones to a perfect edge and her approach to the text, respectful yet imaginative, results in verse that lets Sappho shine forth." --Los Angeles Times

From the jacket flap

Of the nine books of lyrics the ancient Greek poet Sappho is said to have composed, only one poem has survived complete. The rest are fragments. In this miraculous new translation, acclaimed poet and classicist Anne Carson presents all of Sappho's fragments, in Greek and in English, as if on the ragged scraps of papyrus that preserve them, inviting a thrill of discovery and conjecture that can be described only as electric--or, to use Sappho's words, as "thin fire . . . racing under skin." By combining the ancient mysteries of Sappho with the contemporary wizardry of one of our most fearless and original poets, If Not, Winter provides a tantalizing window onto the genius of a woman whose lyric power spans millennia.

Excerpt

Fragment 22

]
]work
]face
]
]
if not, winter
]no pain
]
]I bid you sing
of Gongyla, Abanthis, taking up
your lyre as (now again) longing
floats around you.

you beauty. For her dress when you saw it
stirred you. And I rejoice.
In fact she herself once blamed me
Kyprogeneia

because I prayed
this word:
I want


Fragment 47
Eros shook my
mind like a mountain wind falling on oak trees


Fragment 52

I would not think to touch the sky with two arms


Fragment 56

not one girl I think
who looks on the light of the sun
will ever
have wisdom
like this

Fragment 147


someone will remember us
I say
even in another time


Fragment 162

with what eyes?

Media reviews

“[Sappho’s] verse has been elevated to new heights in [this] gorgeous translation.” —The New York Times

 “This Sappho is whispering in our ear in a language we can understand.” —Time Out New York

“Carson is in many ways [Sappho’s] ideal translator. . . . Her command of language is honed to a perfect edge and her approach to the text, respectful yet imaginative, results in verse that lets Sappho shine forth.” —Los Angeles Times

“A selfless, faithful, and boldly delicate achievement.” —Boston Review



Citations

  • Women's Review of Books, 01/01/2004, Page 8

About the author

ANNE CARSON was born in Canada and has been a professor of Classics for over thirty years. Her awards and honors include the Lannan Award, the Pushcart Prize, the Griffin Trust Award for Excellence in Poetry, and fellowships from the Guggenheim and MacArthur Foundations.

Please wait a moment while we load the requested page.

tracking-