Sappho to Valéry

About

Revised and enlarged, the second edition of Sappho to Valéry includes both the originals and translations of ninety-eight poems from nine different languages. Nims offers new and lively interpretations of a number of poems that have been translated and others available in no other English translation.

A former editor of Poetry, John Frederick Nims has published several volumes of his own poetry, poetry in translation, and essays on the form.

Reviews

“Nims is graced with a meticulous ear for poetic sound effects as they work to give a poem the uncanniness of a true voice. He knows, therefore, how much in a poem refuses to cross the language border. The wonder remains how much he is yet able to smuggle across,”
—John Ciardi, Saturday Review

“[Nims] is an extraordinary man, a passionate scholar combining wit and perfectionism in a rare mix that makes this book a treasure for student and general reader alike.”
—Maxine Kumin, Boston Sunday Globe

“John Frederick Nims’s book of poems in translation, Sappho to Valéry, is handsome and impressive. . . . All of the poems are presented en face, with a brilliant commentary and informative introductions illuminating the problems and the solutions of a modern translator. Nims is not only on the side of the angels, he is on the side of the seraphim.”
—Philip Murray, Poetry

Praise

“[Nims’s] essay on translation is the best by anybody. [His] wit, wisdom, and erudition all presented in a perspicuous prose, make it unique: all future translators must study it.”
—Allen Tate