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Attempts at locating the Rubaiyat in Indian philosophical thought

Attempts at locating the Rubaiyat in Indian philosophical thought. A. Rangarajan.
In: The great ‘Umar Khayyám. Leiden, Leiden University Press, 2012. pp. 233–243.

In this article Rangarajan gives a metaphysical reading of Khayyám’s quatrains by comparing Khayyám’s description of human existence with the supernatural order of Hinduism. Moreover, the author concentrates on other religions such as Buddhism, Jainism and Ajivika, showing how Khayyám’s philosophy matches the tenets of these religions.

Some ‘Umarian quatrains from the lifetime of ‘Umar Khayyám

Some ‘Umarian quatrains from the lifetime of ‘Umar Khayyám. Alexander H. Morton.
In: The great ‘Umar Khayyám. Leiden, Leiden University Press, 2012. pp. 55-65.

Morton draws attention to an overlooked anthology compiled by Abu ‘l-Qásim Nasr b. Amad b. who was writing during the reign of the Ghaznavid Mas ‘ùd III (492-508/1099-1115).

Bitter certainty: J.H. Leopold on ‘Umar Khayyám

Bitter certainty: J.H. Leopold on ‘Umar Khayyám. J.D.F. van Halsema.
In: The great ‘Umar Khayyám. Leiden, Leiden University Press, 2012. pp. 129-134.

In this contribution Van Halsema discusses how the poet J.H. Leopold (1865-1925) focused on philosophy between 1900 and 1906, seeking to solve the problem of human loneliness. He studied Stoa, Epicurus, Spinoza, Descartes, Hume, and Kant closely, and then, in 1904, he found ‘Umar Khayyám.

Khayyám’s universal appeal: man, wine, and the hereafter in the quatrains

Khayyám’s universal appeal: man, wine, and the hereafter in the quatrains. A.A. Seyed-Gohrab.
In: The great ‘Umar Khayyám. Leiden, Leiden University Press, 2012. pp. 11-38.

Introductory essay, in which the author discusses a number of aspects in respect to the study of Omar Khayyám and his rubáiyát: the contents of the quatrains; man, the world and the hereafter; doubt versus certainty; the knot of death; flora and fauna; the pot and the pot-maker; who is the beloved; people with discernment; in vino veritas; activities in the world.

The legacy of ‘Umar Khayyám in music in the Netherlands

The legacy of ‘Umar Khayyám in music in the Netherlands. Rokus de Groot.
In: The great ‘Umar Khayyám. Leiden, Leiden University Press, 2012. pp. 143-160.

De Groot studies several compositions by Dutch composers. In addition to this aspect of Khayyám’s musical reception, De Groot’s contribution explores how Dutch composers responded to Edward FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát and other translations of Khayyám’s poetry. Composers reacted differently to Khayyám’s quatrains: while a number of them concentrated on a spiritual meaning of the quatrains, others composed pieces in which hedonism is put to a central place.

‘Umar Khayyám’s impact on Dutch literature

‘Umar Khayyám’s impact on Dutch literature. M. Goud.
In: The great ‘Umar Khayyám. Leiden, Leiden University Press, 2012. pp. 115-127.

This essay surveys the reception of Umar Khayyám in Dutch literature, from the first translation in 1910 to the most recent echo of Khayyám in Dutch literature. In his renowned 1929 Khayyám bibliography, Ambrose George Potter mentions only two Dutch translations, but many more have appeared since. The recently published bibliography by Jos Coumans lists 40 Dutch editions. Khayyám’s work is still being translated into Dutch today. Goud focuses on the poet and translator P.C. Boutens, whose biography is in preparation Goud concludes with a current case study of Khayyám’s reception in Dutch literature.

Omar Khayyam’s Epicureanism: The Spanish Translations of Rubaiyats (1904-1930)

Omar Khayyam’s Epicureanism: The Spanish Translations of Rubaiyats (1904-1930). A. Gasquet.
In: Peripheral Transmodernities: South-to-South Intercultural Dialogues between the Luso-Hispanic World and ‘the Orient’. Ed. by Ignacio López-Calvo. Newcastle upon Tyne, Cambridge Scholars, 2012. pp. 155-177. ISBN 9781443837149.

The author gives a brief summary of a number of translations published in Spanish-American countries. Here, and in the Phillipines twelve translations of the Rubáiyát were issued in twenty-six years. The first translation was by Juan Dublan (Mexico, 1904), followed by Gregorio Martinez Sierra (Madrid, 1907), and finally by Francisco Propata (Paris, 1930). Four works are discussed more in detail: the versions by Dublan, Muzzio Sáenz-Peña, González and Bernabé. Gasquet describes the socio-cultural conditions of their time, and the sources of their work. He also shows how the hedonist-mystic debate played a role in these works.