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Omaritis in de polder

Omaritis in de polder. Jos Biegstraaten
In: De Perzische muze in de polder. De receptie van de Perzische poëzie in de Nederlandse literatuur. Goud, Marco; Seyed-Gohrab, Asghar (ed.). Amsterdam, Rozenberg, 2006. p. 163–177.

Khayyam, Omar xi. Impact on literature and society in the West

Khayyam, Omar xi. Impact on literature and society in the West. Jos Biegstraaten.
Encyclopaedia Iranica Online, December 2008.

The first scholar outside Persia to study Omar Khayyam was the English orientalist, Thomas Hyde (1636-1703). In his Historia religionis veterum Persarum eorumque magorum (1700), he not only devoted some space to the life and works of Khayyam, but also translated one quatrain (robāʿi) into Latin. The first quatrain in English was published in 1816 by Henry George Keene (1781-1864) in the famous magazine Fundgruben des Orients/Mines d’Orient. Although the founder of the Fundgruben, Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall (1774-1856), translated a few of Khayyam’s poems into German in 1818, and Sir Gore Ouseley (1770-1844) into English in 1846, Khayyam was to remain relatively unknown for some time

Omar with a smile. Parodies in books on FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

Omar with a smile. Parodies in books on FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Jos Biegstraaten.
Persica 20 (2004), p. 1-37

In the spring of 1859 Edward FitzGerald had 250 copies printed of his Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Forty copies were for his own use, the remaining 210 were for sale in the bookshop of Bernard Quaritch, a London bookseller. No one was interested until 1861, when Whitley Stokes, a Celtic scholar, passed Quaritch’s bookstall and bought the book. He must have appreciated the contents, because he came back later and bought some additional copies. One of them he gave to Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who introduced the quatrains to other members of the Pre-Raphaelite circle, like Swinburne. The latter passed his admiration on to William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones. It was the beginning of a period in which the Rubáiyát was to grow to an immense popularity in England.

How ‘Umar Khayyám inspired Dutch visual artists

How ‘Umar Khayyám inspired Dutch visual artists. Jos Biegstraaten.
In: The great ‘Umar Khayyám. Leiden, Leiden University Press, 2012. pp. 135-142.

Biegstraaten examines the work of four Dutch artists who were inspired by Khayyám’s quatrains: Willem Arondéus (1894-1943), Ger Gerrits (1893-1965), Siep van den Berg (1920-1998) and Theo Forrer (1923-2004).

Omar Khayyâm, geleerde en dichter uit Perzië in de overlevering en de verbeelding

Omar Khayyâm, geleerde en dichter uit Perzië in de overlevering en de verbeelding. Leiden, Legatum Warnerianum, Universiteitsbibliotheek, 2001. 139 p.

Summary:
Catalogue to an exhibition in the Leidse Universiteitsbibliotheek, from 15 November till 30 December 2001, by the Nederlands Omar Khayyâm Genootschap.

Contents

Ter Inleiding
Het leven van Omar Khayyâm
Omar als geleerde
De dichter
Vroege vertalers
Nederlandse vertalers en hun bronnen
Edward FitzGerald en zijn vrienden
Omar Khayyâm in Iran
Omar in Babyion
Parodieën op de Rubáiyát
De kwatrijnen uitgebeeld. 1: Omar in de internationale kunst
De kwatrijnen uitgebeeld. 2: Omar in de Nederlandse kunst
Omar Khayyam Clubs
Omariana
Literatuurlijst.

A Book in the Wilderness. FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. 150 years in print and image

A Book in the Wilderness. Jos Biegstraaten and Jos Coumans. Amsterdam, Rozenberg Publishers, 2009. 125 p. ISBN: 9789036101141

Summary
‘A Book in the Wilderness’ accompanied an exhibition held in Museum Meermanno, The Hague (The Netherlands). The book provides information on a variety of editions that illustrate two important developments in publishing and printing the Rubáiyát: typographical aspects in a number of private press editions, and the various ways in which the Rubáiyát were illustrated. The main sections in the book highlight
– the four FitzGerald editions and a number of facsimile and pirated editions;
– the succes of the Rubáiyát in the USA and the UK with Mosher, Bradley, the Roycrofters and a number of English private press editions;
– illustrated editions: William Morris and Elihu Vedder; famous illustrators such as Dulac, Pogany; Dutch illustrators;
– miniature editions from the early 20th century until today.

Each item is illustrated with miniatures, larger illustrations in a separate section of the book.

Contents

Foreword by Leo Voogt, p. 7
Introduction, p. 13
Edward FitzGerald: first editions, p. 19
Edward FitzGerald: pirated and facsimile editions, p. 25
USA: Mosher and Bradley, p. 28
Morris’ influence: UK, USA and The Netherlands, p. 32
USA: The Roycroft Printing Shop, 41
English presses, p. 46
The first illustrated editions, p. 51
Illustrated editions: commercial publishers, p. 58
Illustrated editions: some techniques, p. 68
Dutch illustrators, p. 74
Miniatures and small books, p. 79
Select bibliography and further reading, p. 113
Index, p. 120