Is Love Worth the Risk? – The Songs of Sappho with Martha Kearney

Armand and Jimmy dive into the passionate, mysterious world of Sappho – the iconic lyric poet of archaic Greece, whose fragments of song have echoed across millennia. From fiery expressions of desire to haunting lines of loneliness, they explore how Sappho’s poetry defined love, lyricism, and the female voice in a male-dominated world. Along the way, they unpack why she was called the “10th Muse,” how her songs were exactly that – songs rather than just poems, and how a single line could move an Athenian statesman to tears. Discover how Sappho’s legacy shaped Roman poets like Catullus, inspired modern writers like Anne Carson, and still resonates in today’s age of short-form storytelling and queer expression.

Thank you to Martha Kearney for suggesting this week's topic and the main texts we explored (in order): Sappho’s Fragment 31, Catullus’ Poem 51, Sappho’s Fragment 58, Fragment 16.

Presented by Armand D’Angour and Jimmy Mulville
Produced by Diggory Waite
A Hat Trick Production

For more on the charity Classics For All, who support state schools to introduce or develop the teaching of classical subjects sustainably on the curriculum or as an after school activity, visit www.classicsforall.org.uk