The poetry of Sappho, who was born around 620 BC and lived on the Greek
island of Lesbos, has inspired and fascinated readers and poets for two
and a half thousand years. Today, as in antiquity, she is regarded as
Greece's supreme lyric poet. Yet apart from a few near-complete poems,
her poetry survives largely in tantalizing fragments. This book traces
Sappho's reception in English-language poetry through translations and
poems about her. From Donne and Pope via Swinburne, Bliss Carman and
Pound to contemporary poets such as Michael Longley and Olga Broumas, it
both celebrates and illustrates our changing image of Sappho. Peter Jay
edited The Greek Anthology for Penguin Classics. He is the author of a
collection of poems, Shifting Frontiers, and has translated some
modern Romanian and Hungarian poetry. Caroline Lewis is a writer and
lecturer specializing in women's writing and history. She has lived and
worked in London and Hong Kong and now lives in Edinburgh.