Now we are ten!

On 17th April 2012, we uploaded the first post on this OmarKhayyamRubaiyat blog. The post was headed Calling all lovers of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and in it we stated that “… we are aiming to use this blog to help everyone keep up to date with new happenings relating to the Rubaiyat – books, art works, exhibitions, lectures, research, and much more.  The year 2009 was a seminal point for Rubaiyat lovers, with so many happenings that marked the two anniversaries in that year.  But more has happened since.  And it would be great if we could create on on-going Rubaiyat community to which everyone can communicate their knowledge and thoughts.”

Ten years on seems a good point at which to look back to see what we have and have not achieved against the background of these aims. We are still ‘in business’, which is perhaps something, and we now have some 200 regular followers of the blog. In recent years, there have been 30-50 posts annually, and between 4000 and 7000 visitors each year. So there is clearly still interest in Khayyam, FitzGerald and the Rubaiyat, and the blog has been something of a focus for this interest and for putting people in touch with others who share their preoccupations.

To speak for ourselves, we have definitely benefited from the existence of the blog and we greatly value the new contacts and friends that we have made worldwide among other lovers of the Rubaiyat. We have been amazed by the variety and the enthusiasm of people who have been in touch through the blog and the range of subjects on which they have been able to contribute material for posts. As webmasters, we are enormously grateful to all our contributors, whether regular or one-off, who have allowed us to published their material on the blog. Without all of you, the blog would almost certainly not exist today, and it would undoubtedly be much less interesting. Thank you so much for sharing your research and findings with all of us.

Through the work of our contributors, the blog has been able to add significantly to knowledge about a wide variety of Rubaiyat related subjects. These range from identifying previously unknown editions of FitzGerald’s Rubaiyat, and documenting the life and work of many Rubaiyat artists, to detailed discussions of the interpretation of particular verses and concepts in the poem, and much more. Through general calls for information, researchers have been able to share their data with others and to work co-operatively – how did we ever do this before the advent of the internet? It has also been possible to alert a much wider audience to interesting events such as readings of the Rubaiyat, films, exhibitions and performances of dance and music inspired by the verse.

Today we look forward to what the years ahead may bring. We hope that the blog will continue to provide a useful service to readers and researchers. Contributions on any Rubaiyat related subjects are always welcome and our aim will still be to widen the Rubaiyat loving community and to bring the great work of Khayyam, FitzGerald and others to an ever larger audience.

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