I think that was maybe our inspiration for that. And we were more inspired by Fragment 55 to write a very slow… LC: Yeah, I think that when we had written this down, when Ellie and I did our songwriting session, you had put both of them there. And so, how do we find them? Like how do you dig up a Sappho fragment out of the desert? How do you tell that Sappho wrote it? What are the ethical implications around digging Sappho out of the desert? All of that is what today’s episode goes into, so these poems kind of felt right for that. LC: Because we already wrote the song for 55.ĮB: Because we’re not gonna write another song.ĪK: I think y’all were more inspired–if I could be so bold, I might guess that y’all were kind of more inspired musically by Fragment 55.ĪK: But both fragments are really kind of thematically in line with the content of today’s episode, which is about the fragmentation of Sappho’s work into these little, tiny chunks of papyrus that we find in the desert, and piece together like puzzle pieces. So why did this one not make the cut for this episode, for the song? It’s great, it’s great to see.ĮB: It’s great. Our listeners can’t see all of us, like, dancing in our… LC: Oh, we should have written a song for this one.ĮB: “High branch, high on the highest branch.”ĪK: We’re jamming here. “High branch, high on the highest branch.”
Well yeah, I love the, like, “high branch, high on the highest branch.” Ooh, that sounds like I could really riff on that.
But there is lots of assonance in here because you’ve got “apple,” “branch.” So there’s that “A” sound kind of going throughout with apple, and yeah. But first, I’ll just review you Anne Carson’s translation of Fragment 105: “as the sweetapple reddens on a high branch / high on the highest branch and the applepickers forgot– / no, not forgot: were unable to reach.”ĮB: Yeah, I love the assonance, right? Is this assonance, with that h’s?ĪK: It’s alliteration, but you were so close.ĪK: Yes. We almost went with this one for the episode because it’s also really pertinent to the content of this episode, which I can talk about, for both of these poems. So the honorable mention poem is Fragment 105. And we had another poem for this episode as well, which I feel like we should give an honorable mention to and read, because it’s pretty short.ĪK: Sure. Like Sappho is as important if not more important, just more people know who Emily Dickinson is because she’s more contemporary. I always tell people too, when I’m trying to explain Sappho to people, I’m like, imagine if–like imagine Emily Dickinson. Was that good analysis of the poem?ĮB: Yes. It really felt like that kind of vibe, like very…ĪK: A tiny poem about death. LC: Like some of her–I don’t know just thinking about some of her poems, like “The Chariot” or “The World Feels Dusty,” like these poems.
LC: It really reminds me of Emily Dickinson, to be honest. Yeah, that is–I mean, the description is gorgeous. LC: Like that’s so intense! So intense for our morning–good morning, listeners!ĪK: No one will remember you when you’re dead–hi!ĮB: Wow. No, flitting aimlessly about, / You will wildly roam, / a shade amidst the shadowy dead.” “When you lie dead, no one will remember you / For you have no share in the Muses’ roses. So, for today we have Sappho’s Fragment 55, and the translation is by Julia Dubnoff. Alyse, will you tell us about the poem, read the poem?Īlyse Knorr: Yeah, absolutely.
Stay tuned until the end of the episode to hear our own version of the poem as a song. LC: As we do each episode, we’re going to start with one of Sappho’s fragments, chosen by our resident poet, Alyse. We’re your hosts, Ellie Brigida…ĮB: This episode, we’ll be talking about why we only have excerpts of Sappho’s work, and where we find them. Welcome to Sweetbitter, a podcast where we investigate the truth and controversy surrounding Sappho, her life, the Isle of Lesbos, and her relevance today.
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