Intimate, piercing, and incisive, Sappho's fragments are as enrapturing as they are reflective. The subjects of her lyrics range from musing about forbidden love to reveling in the passing of time. Paradoxically, the soft musicality of the poet's phrasing pairs extraordinarily well with the intensity of the emotions she describes in her lyrics: at once the fragments read as tender and visceral. Carson's edition makes for an ideal introduction to Sappho's work, as it clearly marks the many gaps in her extant verse. Whereas editions that don't format the fragments tend to transform Sappho into a kind of sparse Imagist, If Not, Winter forces readers to remember that most of the poet's work has in fact been lost or destroyed. - Michael on Goodreads