T H E  L O V E  S O N G S  O F   I B Y K O S :  2 2  F R A G M E N T S
t r a n s l a t e d   w i t h   a n   i n t r o d u c t i o n   b y  
T E D   J E N N E R

A bilingual edition. Illustrations by John Reynolds. 1997

"Born at Rhegion (now Reggio di Calabria in Southern Italy) early in the sixth century B.C., left the Greek West for the island of Samos in the Aegean sea, died at Rhegion -- or was perhaps robbed and murdered near Corinth: that is about as much as we can derive from ancient sources about the life of the lyric poet Ibyknos." With this beginning to his Introduction, translator Ted Jenner mirrors the lacunae, not only in the life of the poet, but also in the fragmentary nature of the texts themselves as they have come down to us. These 22 fragments, presented here in Greek with accompanying English translations, are a selection from a total of some 100 fragments which make up the Ibykos oeuvre.

Well-known for his translations of other Greek poets and more recently of Francis Ponge, Jenner's position as both poet and scholar provides these translations with a richness and skill that is rare in this country. Artist John Reynolds has a long interest in ancient sources also, and his large paintings dealing with Plato's Cave made him an obvious choice as illustrator for this book. In Reynolds's images, reproductions of the original papyrus fragments (with the permission of The Egypt Exploration Society) have been incorporated.
 

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