I'm forwarding this sad notice from the Poetics List.    Sylvester


>Date:    Fri, 31 Aug 2001 23:27:15 -0700
>From:    Pete Landers <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Mary Barnard passed on
>
>Hi list,
>
>Sadly, a great spirit has left this world. Mary Barnard, whose Sappho
>translations are at this point the most widely read, passed away last
>Saturday. She was 91. I don't know if anyone on the list knows more
>about her, but if so, please tell. She traveled to see Pound and
>exchanged letters with Williams. Some of her work was published by
>Laughlin. She worked at the Buffalo SUNY Library for a while and
>helped establish the modern poetry collection. Her poetry is relaxed
>and intelligent. It's a pleasure to read. Maybe she deserves at least
>a token obit somewhere, but I'm afraid the big papers haven't noticed
>yet, or don't care. Here in Portland, OR there is going to be some
>sort of poetic memorial service. I don't know more yet. She grew up
>in the logging community, went to Reed in the thirties, and lived
>much of her later years in Vancouver Washington (just across the
>river).
>
>No need to post any Sappho here. Just search the web for Sappho and
>you'll find many Barnard translations. I hope someone at the library,
>who knows what she meant to Buffalo and modern poetry, reads this.
>
>Pete
>--