Breaking News: Two New Sappho Poems Discovered

[poetree_admin]

jjhunter

Via comm member ysabetwordsmith, a piece of breaking poetry news too exciting to wait for the usual Sunday Picnic thread: Scholars Discover New Poems from Ancient Greek Poetess Sappho (The Daily Beast)

A chance inquiry by an unidentified collector has led to a spectacular literary discovery: Parts of two previously unknown poems by Sappho, the great Greek poetess of the 7th Century B.C. One of the poems is remarkably well preserved and adds greatly to what is known about Sappho and her poetic technique.

Note that the linked online ahead-of-print paper publishing the poem-bearing papyrus in question provides the Aeolic text in full at the end, but no corresponding English translation.

(If ever there was a situation warranting 'I HAVE AN ANCIENT GREEK TRANSLATION EMERGENCY FOR YOU', this is it. I'm afraid it's all Greek to me.)

For more about the poet Sappho, see the posts for our previous community themed week Fragments of Sappho. Sometimes, just sometimes, we do get back a grace more of what we'd thought history ate forever.

ETA: partial translation by Tim Whitmarsh available via the Guardian.

Member Request: "Can you folks help me crowdsource the answer?"

[poetree_admin]

jjhunter

Comm member marahmarie is looking for assistance sourcing (& filling in the blanks!) of a half-remembered poem they'd like to post to poetry. Full details here.

If even one of you - but yes, the more the merrier - can help me fill in the missing pieces of this poem my gratitude will be eternal.

[...]

Mrs Mayer, Mrs. Mayer,
Growing leaner, sadder, grayer,
Her husband dead and children grown
Tends the [...]

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