The only complete poem we have by Sappho, and therefore probably the most famous, is her Hymn to Aphrodite, or Ode to Aphrodite. (There’s also a Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite—which wasn’t composed by Homer, despite what we call it—that shouldn’t be confused with Sappho’s poem.) It would make a wonderful video, but this is not…
Hi! Last Sunday over on Substack, I posted “The Most Influential People In Ancient History” (pt. 2), about Homer and Sappho. I mentioned that there’s been different theories about Sappho’s role (whether she ran some sort of “school” for young ladies or taught them or what) and those ideas, some of which started back in…
Hello! Here’s a new video from Dreams of Summer (the second book of A Gem-bright Year). I’m in the process of getting back into this story and there videos. Enjoy this meeting between Shinotori and Lady Kiyohara in a summer field! 😊
This is a short (1:44 min) sweet little video for my awesome paid subscribers, to brighten up your day. It also shows what can happen when buttons catch on a dress! 😄 I hope you enjoy it! Link is below! Visitors, if you like what you’re seeing here and want to see more, become a…
Sappho’s Ode to Artemis
Another Group of Extraordinary Women
Lesser known, but in no way lesser.
Japan’s Greatest Novelist
Japan’s great prose artist
Japan’s Leading Woman Poet
The Crucible of Genius
Japanese poetry in general, and Heian poetry especially isn’t much like the poetry most of us are used to. Also, because of its unique nature, the translation of any one poem into English can vary so much that we can be forgiven if we don’t first recognize we’ve reading the same one. Reflecting on this, Ivan Morris said Heian poetry was the most challenging all…
Yep… It’s done. Uploaded. But I’m honestly in a bit of a daze. If I go on here, I’ll sound like… I dunno what. So I won’t for now. For my super-amazing paid subscribers, the link is below. Ok, the video. If I knew how, I’d make a super-cool trailer. (Riley’s a Wizard at that!…