A Romantic reconstruction by Bliss Carman with new material by Sushuri Madonna-chei
Sappho may be called the founder of lyric poetry as we know it today. Plato called her the tenth muse. And yet most of her poetry is lost; existing only in scattered fragments.
Sappho: One Hundred Lyrics is a late-Romantic attempt, made in the early 20th century by Bliss Carman, to reconstruct her work.
In 2005 a new fragment (among the largest known) was found, and, being pieced together with another large fragment found in 1922, gave us one of the few complete Sappho poems in existence.
Sushuri Madonna-chei, an intemorphic blogger, made a beautiful translation of this poem in a Romantic style. While her intention at the time was not to complement Bliss Carman’s work, it does so perfectly and allows us to offer “the complete Romantic Sappho”.
