Background – Why create a blog about the Rubaiyat?
For the moment, we have put the best arguments in our first post. So we are just repeating it here, with a different picture, so as to keep it in view. We’ll improve on it in due course.
Calling all lovers of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
This blog is for everyone who loves the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, and finds that it is still both fascinating and inspirational, over 900 years after it was first created in eastern Persia, and 150 years after Edward FitzGerald created his famous version of the poem in English.
If you don’t have a clue what we are talking about, you may at this point want to check out our main website www.omarkhayyamrubaiyat.com which has lots of detail about the poem, its authors, and even a full text of FitzGerald’s first edition in English.
For those who already know the poem, 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.
So if you have news or thoughts that you would like to share, please file comments on the blog, or contact us and we can do it for you. The more the merrier – at least at present! Let us have your suggestions. And sign up to receive blog notifications by e-mail so you know what is happening.
SandraBill OKR
Omar Khayyam Rubaiyat 
Recently a new book about the poetry of Omar Khayyam was published and illustrated by the Persian artist Naghi Naghachian. The book is in Persian, Englisch, French and German language. You can have a look inside the book here:
http://www.epubli.de/shop/buch/The-Robaiyat-of-Omar-Khayyam-Les-Quatrains-dOmar-Khayy%C3%A2m-Die-Vierzeiler-von-Omar-Khayy%C3%A2m-Naghi-Naghashian-9783844214598/12052
Dear Mrs. Merkle,
I’am interested in the book you mention in the blog. Specially I should like to know who did the German translation, for I am just working too on a new translation strictly after Edward Fitzgerald. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any link to the translator in all the postings I could found. If you could give me an answewr, I should be much obliged!
Sincerely yours
Gabriele Hummert
Promoting the Genius of Edward FitzGerald – worldwide…
http://www.thehebetheatrecompany.onesuffolk.net
“… and sorrow ebbs blown by winds of words.” William Shakespeare
I uploaded a short while back a full reading and video of the Rubaiyat — – https://youtu.be/xdbNh4jZEM4. Whilst not pefect I believe it to be worthy – it is certainly gaining in popularity – your fellow enthusiasts may enjoy it – I hope so.
I would certainly appreciate any promotion – as I use my channel – mdebailes- as a professional actor to progress my technique and for, I hope, others pleasure – best wishes db
Thanks for alerting us to your video, David. We have enjoyed dipping into the film and hope to view it in full shortly. We’ll put the essence of your comment on the site in a new post in the next few days, so the video gets more general attention. Congratulations on your work.
Sandra & Bill
Are there any remaining Omar Khayyam clubs or associations still in existence? I ask because my searches have only found dead, out-of-date. or broken websites. For example, the CONTACT button of the Omar Khayyam Club of London leads to an out-of-date URL, and none of the other websites I have found seem to be still active.
Fitzgerald…he took a beautiful woman and painted her like a whore. If only you all knew how Fitzgerald ruined the soul of the Rubaiyat with his English pomposity. The wall between languages is a curse. If only you all could see the raw beauty of the man when he wrote lucidly, or when he wrote drunk, when he was filled with hope and when he could barely keep going. You could see all this, HEAR it in his words. Words that carry more significance and innovative ideas than people know without knowing what Omar Kayyham knew, truly knew. Fitzgerald failed to carry on that expression, he simply draped Kayyhams words with his Victorian frills. I saddened me for a long time that there were no other good English translations. Some from other languages kept loyal to Kayyham’s soul. The best way to read it however is in Persian. Not in translated Persian, but once you truly know the soul of the language. Or you’ll just have to wait until someone translates it and truly carries the soul of Kayyham over to English, rather than **** Fitzgerald did. Best known for corrupting one of the greatest minds that had graced this Earth.
Ms Rojas ~ I can’t help feeling you are more interested in bragging about your knowledge of Persian than giving any meaningful comment on Fitzgerald’s “Interpretation” !
“Whorish” it may be, If so what an elegant, cultured, humourful, exotic, wise woman she would have been ~ and were that my bent she’d have my cash “Not counting the cost” in a trice.
Your lamentation that we should wait “until someone translates it ….blah! Blah!” OR even more lamentably proceed with all learning Persian … Dear, Oh Dear, Oh Dear … pompously English enough for you?!!
But not to worry, I am as prejudiced, pompous and passionate as yourself so I am sure you will understand if I truncate my response to Pish!
best to you mdebailes
Hello, i wanted to know your opinion on why Mr. Fitzjerald used the word Lizard , in the quatraint about Jamshid’s court?
Dear Sir/Madam,
My name is Mark Evans and i am an Assistant Librarian at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales, UK.
I am currently cataloguing ” An index to Ambrose George Potter’s Bibliography of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam / compiled by Douglas Taylor”.
To assist us with our author catalogue would it be possible for you to send us an e-mail address for Mr Douglas Taylor and/or Mr Bob Forrest so we can send a author enquiry form to them via an attachment?
Many thanks in advance for your assistance.
Mark Evans
Assistant Librarian
National Library of Wales
Aberystwyth
Ceredigion
Wales
UK
SY23 3BU
jme@llgc.org.uk
01970632958
I think that your readers may enjoy my article on the Rubaiyat. It is written from the perspective of research into religious/spiritual/mystical experience:
https://www.near-death.com/religion/god-is-with-us/omar-khayyam-sufi-universalist.html
I’ve loved the Rubaiyat for many years and have been following your blog with great interest. This autumn I am returning to academic studies as a mature student on the Sequential Design & Illustration MA with University of Brighton in the UK – with my research and illustration project focused on the Rubaiyat. Thank you for creating this amazing resource.
Thanks for your kind comment, Lois. How interesting to hear about your project on the Rubaiyat. We’d love to know more about what you are planning. Would you like to do a blog post on the project at some point? Let us know.
Sandra & Bill
Yes I’d love to – and I will be in touch again
… Your blog continues to be an amazing resource for my Illustration MA – I graduate in 2022 so have another year to go on my major project about the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam – which I never tire of reading and researching. A couple of recommendations for anyone interested in Persian culture that I’m enjoying are the HeyGo online virtual guided trips to cultural sites in Iran and the Epic Iran exhibition at the Victoria & Albert museum, which also has a great book. Thanks for your lovely blog.
Good afternoon Lois and everyone,
Re Exhibitions connected with the Ruba’iya’t – there are two in Ipswich at the moment. One has just started at The Wolsey Gallery, Christchurch Mansion entitled ‘Power of Stories’ see http://www.powerofstories.co.uk and the other just finishing is ‘Pride in Suffolk’s Past’ at The Hold http://www.suffolkarchives.co.uk. Christchurch Mansion is a lovely place to visit and you can see E.F.G’s reading / writing desk upstairs alongside one of his chairs, then in the music room you can see his rosewood Broadwood Piano. ENJOY
Good morning,
WRGOABABD … these letters were written on the back of a Rubaiyat found in
mysterious circumstances in 1949 … would it make sense to any of you good folks if these letters were related to the Omerian alphabet?
Thank you Peter. You seem already to have answered your own question in your own post https://tomsbytwo.com/2021/06/30/an-omarian-alphabet/ . I don’t think we can add anything more.
Thank you, in this business every vote counts.
Good morning, I bought in a flea market near Milano a drawing, I am totally sure it is the original watercolor for an illustration of Rubaiyat edition (1923), signed Hope Weston. If interested I can post it (no commercial purposes).
Thanks for this comment. Your find is interesting, particularly since it is quite rare to find the original artwork of any Rubaiyat illustrations. Would you be able to send us a photo of your acquisition? Please send it to sandrabill@omarkhayyamrubaiyat.com. Many thanks.