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The erring finger writes. The Leicester pirate cyclostyles of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

The erring finger writes. The Leicester pirate cyclostyles of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Jos Coumans & John Drew. Cambridge, Cambridge Poetry Workshop, 2015. 43 pp. ISBN: 9781871214260.

Summary:

This document tells the story of Holyoak’s cyclostyle editions of the Rubáiyát, the interference by Macmillans who saw the work of the simple Leicester book seller as a threat to their business, and the response by W.H. Holyoak and G.J. Holyoake. The booklet also shows documents and descriptions of the various versions of Holyoak’s printings.

The Cinderella of the Arts

The Cinderella of the Arts. Rob Shepherd. London and New Castle, DE: Shepherds and Oak Knoll Press, 2015. 200 pp. ISBN: 9781584563402.

Sumary:

Shepherds bookbinders, in co-operation with Oak Knoll Press, recently published The Cinderella of the Arts. A short history of Sangorski & Sutcliffe, a London bookbinding firm established in 1901. It is a successor to Bob Shepherds book Lost on the Titanic (2001), and this new edition draws a wider perspective of the firm’s history, including the dramatic story of the second ‘Great Omar’. The history also highlights the Sutcliffe years and the years that Stanley Bray was in command. It is illustrated with colourfull images of some of the finest bindings, and with photographs of the people of the firm.

Pope’s Iliad and E. FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát

Pope’s Iliad and E. FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát.
In: The Lesbian Lyre: Reclaiming Sappho for the 21st Century. Jeffrey M. Duban. Clairview Books, 2016. 832p. ISBN 9781905570799

Summary:

Hailed by Plato as the “Tenth Muse” of ancient Greek poetry, Sappho is inarguably antiquity’s greatest lyric poet. Born over 2,600 years ago on the Greek island of Lesbos, and writing amorously of women and men alike, she is the namesake lesbian. What’s left of her writing, and what we know of her, is fragmentary. Duban provides a reader-friendly overview of Sappho’s times and themes, exploring her eroticism and Greek homosexuality overall.

The Confluence of Wisdom …

The Confluence of Wisdom Along the Silk Road. Omar Khayyam’s Transformative Poetry. Mostafa Vaziri.
[S.l.] : Vernon Press, 2021. 208 p. ISBN: 9781648893162

Summary

For centuries along the vibrant cultural corridor of the Silk Road of Central Asia, philosophers and thinkers from Hellenic, Chinese and Indian traditions debated existential issues. Out of this stimulating milieu, the iconic poet-mathematician Omar Khayyam emerged in the eleventh century, advancing a transformative intercultural philosophy in his poetic work, the Rubaiyat.
Vaziri traces the themes of Khayyam’s Rubaiyat back to the highly influential philosophical traditions of the Silk Road and uncovers fascinating parallels in original works by Heraclitus, Zhuangzi (Daoism), Nagarjuna (Mahayana Buddhism), and the Upanishads. In addition, Vaziri’s elegant translation and unique classification of the verses of the Rubaiyat reveal an existential roadmap laid out by Khayyam.
In this pioneering volume, Vaziri not only fuses the multiple disciplines of literature, philosophy, culture, history and medicine but also takes the approach of the Rubaiyat to a new level, presenting it as a source of wisdom therapy that stands the test of time in the face of doubt and confusion, offering a platform for self-restoration.