Sappho remains one of antiquity's most influential poets, yet her life is largely unknown and her work survives only in fragments. Her name and her island home of Lesbos have become enduring symbols of queer female identity and love – but how much of this legacy rests on historical fact versus cultural imagination?
Dr Alecto Hardwick, a lecturer in ancient Greek literature at the University of Oxford, draws on both her scholarship and her lived experience as a queer woman to explore Sappho's remarkable cultural journey. She will guide you through the sparse evidence of Sappho's life, trace how she and Lesbos became lasting symbols of queer womanhood, and teach practical approaches to reading and interpreting the fragmentary texts that remain. Discover what we actually know about this ancient poet, how speculation and myth shaped her legend, and how we can participate in that story as readers and interpreters.
Doors open at 7pm; the talk begins at 7.30pm. Arrive early for the best seating.
