Sweetbitter | Women & LGBTQIA+ History

Welcome to Sweetbitter, a podcast where we investigate the truth and controversy surrounding Sappho her life, the Isle of Lesbos and her relevance today, Each episode we'll deep dive into a part of the mystery of Sappho with insights from academics, translators, performers, and poets. Launching October 15th 2020. You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram @sweetbitterpod, or support us on Patreon.

On the throne of many hues, Immortal Aphrodite,child of Zeus, weaving wiles: I beg you,do not break my spirit, O Queen,with pain or sorrowbut come--if ever before from far awayyou heard my voice and listened,and leaving your father'sgolden home you came,your chariot yoked with lovely sparrowsdrawing you quickly over the dark earthin a whirling cloud of wings downthe sky through midair,suddenly here. Blessed One, with a smileon your deathless face, you askwhat have I suffered againand why do I call againand what in my wild heart do I most wishwould happen: "Once again who must Ipersuade to turn back to your love?Sappho, who wrongs you?If now she flees, soon she'll chase.If rejecting gifts, then she'll give.If not loving, soon she'll loveeven against her will."Come to me now--release me from thesetroubles, everything my heart longsto have fulfilled, fulfill, and yoube my ally.Translation by Rayor Rayor, Diane. Sappho: A New Translation of the Complete Works, Cambridge University Press, 2014. Introduction & notes by André Lardinois.Thank you for listening to our episode zero! You can follow us on Twitter & Instagram @sweetbitterpod. You can support us on patreon.com/sweetbitter - sign up before November 1st at any level for a free Sweetbitter tote bag.Click here for episode transcript

Some men say and army of horses and some men say an army on footand some men say an army of ships is the most beautiful thingon the black earth. But I say it is       what you love.Easy to make this understood by all.For she who overcame everyonein beauty (Helen)       left her fine husbandbehind and went sailing to Troy.Not for her children nor her dear parentshad she a thought, no-         ]led her astray                               ]for                ]lightly         ]reminded me now of Anaktoria         who is gone.I would rather see her lovely stepand the motion of light on her facethan chariots of Lydians or ranks         of footsoldiers in arms] not possible to happen] to pay for a share]]]]]toward[]]]out of the unexpected.Translation by CarsonSappho, , and Anne Carson. If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho. , 2002.Thank you for listening to our first episode! You can follow us on Twitter & Instagram @sweetbitterpod. You can support us on patreon.com/sweetbitter - sign up before November 1st at any level for a free Sweetbitter tote bag.Our guests this episode were Chris Mason from Olds Songs, Marguerite Johnson and Diane Rayor. You can learn more about our guests and where to find them here.You can find the episode transcript here

Once again Love, that loosener of limbs,bittersweet and inescapable, crawling thing,seizes me.Translation by Rayor.Rayor, Diane. Sappho: A New Translation of the Complete Works, Cambridge University Press, 2014. Introduction & notes by André Lardinois.Thank you for listening! You can follow us on Twitter & Instagram @sweetbitterpod. You can support us on patreon.com/sweetbitter.Our guests this episode were Marguerite Johnson, Alex Purves, Jade Esteban Estrada and Diane Rayor. You can learn more about our guests and where to find them here.You can find the episode transcript here

When you lie dead, no one will remember youFor you have no share in the Muses’ roses.No, flitting aimlessly about,You will wildly roam,a shade amidst the shadowy dead.Translated by DubnoffThank you for listening! You can follow us on Twitter & Instagram @sweetbitterpod. You can support us on patreon.com/sweetbitter.Our guests this episode were Marguerite Johnson and Malcolm Choat. You can learn more about our guests and where to find them here.You can find the episode transcript here

]]]]]running away]bitten]]]you]makes a way with the mouth]beautiful gifts children]songdelighting clear sounding lyre]all my skin old age alreadyhair turned white after black]knees do not carry]like fawns]but what could I do?]not possible to become]Dawn with arms of roses]bringing to the ends of the earth]yet seized]wife]imagines]might bestowBut I love delicacy and this to me—the brilliance and beauty of the sun—desire has allotted.Translation by CarsonThank you for listening! You can follow us on Twitter & Instagram @sweetbitterpod. You can support us on patreon.com/sweetbitter.If you want to know more about Eurocentrism in papyrology, please follow Usama’s blog: Everyday Orientalism. Ariel’s book Veritas: A Harvard Professor, a Con Man & the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife is out wherever you buy books - here’s it's listing our favorite local.If you want to listen to another cool podcast all about the Hobby Lobby, check out the Behind the Bastards episode.Our guests this episode were Malcolm Choat, Ariel Sabar, Mike Sampson & Usama Gad. You can learn more about our guests and where to find them here.You can find the episode transcript here

Grab a drink and join us for a holiday bonus episode with our friend Liv Albert from Let’s Talk About Myths Baby. We talk about Aphrodite, Greek Mythology and the patriarchy.Thank you for listening! You can follow us on Twitter & Instagram @sweetbitterpod. You can support us on patreon.com/sweetbitter.You can find Let’s Talk About Myths Baby anywhere you find podcasts and on social media @mythsbaby.You can find the episode transcript here

You, children, be zealous for the beautiful gifts of the violetlapped Musesand for the clear songloving lyre.But my skin once soft is now taken by old age,my hair turns white from black.And my heart is weighed down and my knees do not lift,that once were light to dance as fawns.I groan for this. But what can I do?A human being without old age is not a possibility.There is the story of Tithonos, loved by Dawn with her arms of rosesand she carried him off to the ends of the earthwhen he was beautiful and young. Even so was he grippedby white old age. He still has his deathless wife.Translation by Carson (2005) Thank you for listening! You can follow us on Twitter & Instagram @sweetbitterpod. You can support us on patreon.com/sweetbitter.You can read Carson’s thoughts on the 2004 discovery in the New York Review here. Roberta Mazza’s blog, Faces and Voices, can be found here.Our guests this episode were Roberta Mazza, Sandra Boehringer (trans. by Annie McCarthy), Marguerite Johnson, Malcolm Choat, Mike Sampson & Ariel Sabar. You can learn more about our guests and where to find them on our website.You can find the episode transcript here