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Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat – an Antidote for Islamic Fundamentalism

Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat – an Antidote for Islamic Fundamentalism. N. Berdichevsky.
New English Review, (2007) November.

Omar Khayyam (1044-1123) was a Persian mathematician, astronomer, and mystic. His reputation was for a time highly regarded in Iran under the regime of the last Shah but by and large he has been held either in ignominy, contempt, total disregard or intentional oblivion by almost the entire Muslim world, and especially the Arab countries and his native Iran, ruled today by the clique of fanatical mullahs who represent the very targets of bigotry, asceticism and ignorance his verses derided in The Rubaiyat.

Omar Khayyam: Poet, Rebel, Astronomer

Omar Khayyam: Poet, Rebel, Astronomer. Hazhir Teimourian. Stroud, Sutton, 2007. xiv, 365 p. Illustrated. ISBN: 978-0750947152

Summary:
This book claims to be detailed study of Khayyám’s life and world. It tells how Khayyám was persecuted for his philosophical beliefs and rebellious poems, how the two rival worlds of Christianity and Islam slowly moved towards their most violent embrace. It also tells the story of the Rubaiyat and gives a new translation of fifty quatrains, including FitzGerald’s first version.

Contents

Acknowledgements
Prologue – Four True Graveside Stories
1. The Fire Temples of Nishápur (1048–67)
2. The Libraries of Samarkand (1068–72)
3. The Throne Room of Bukhara (1072–73)
4. The Palaces of Isfahan (1073–77)
5. The Boy Triumphs (1077–79)
6. The Vizier Regrets (1079–84)
7. The Shah Applauds (1085–89)
8. The Assassin Stalks (1090–92)
9. The Queen Turns (1092–93)
10. The Pilgrim of Babel (1093–94)
11. The Recluse of Nishápur (1094–1108)
12. The Sage of Khorásán (1108–31)
Epilogue – The Story of the Rubáiyát
Appendix I – The Rubáiyát: A New Translation
Appendix II – The FitzGerald Translation of 1859
Appendix III – Omar the Greek
Appendix IV – Khayyám’s Mathematics and Other Writings
Principal Characters
Family Tree of the Saljuq Royal House
Map of the Saljuq Empire at the Time of Malik-Shah’s death
Chronology
Notes
Selected bibliography
Index

The genuine face of Omar Khayyam

The genuine face of Omar Khayyam. Bahram Baghaie Naini. London, Parsees Arts, 2007. 264 p. ISBN: 9780955601804

Contents

Acknowledgements
Foreword

CHAPTER 1
The Genuine Face of Omar Khayyam
The influence of Avicenna on Omar Khayyam
The character of Omar Khayyam
The authenticity of the Rubaiyat
The intractable problem with translating Persian poetry
Translating the Rubaiyat in Prose

CHAPTER 2
The Creation of the World, Existence and Religions

CHAPTER 3
The Followers of Omar Khayyam
The influence of Omar Khayyam onSaadi
The influence of Omar Khayyam on Hafez

CHAPTER 4
Omar Khayyam and Pottery

CHAPTER 5
The Creation of the World and God

CHAPTER 6
Freewill and Predestination
The influence of Omar Khayyam on Parvin Etesami

CHAPTER 7
The Puppet Show

CHAPTER 8
The Translations
Edward FitzGerald
A brief look at Edward FitzGerald’s Life

CHAPTER 9
Omar Khayyam & the philosophers and scientists of the world

CHAPTER 10
Optimist and Pessimist

CHAPTER 11
The Existence of Man and Nature

CHAPTER 12
The Effect and Outcome at the Conclusion

Selected Bibliography

The Art of Omar Khayyam. Illustrating FitzGerald’s Rubaiyat

The Art of Omar Khayyam. Illustrating FitzGerald’s Rubaiyat. William H. Martin & Sandra Mason. London : New York, Tauris, 2007. 184 p. Index. ISBN 978-84511-282-0

Summary:
“This book describes a phenomenon unique in publishing history: a book of poetry, published anonymously nearly 150 years ago – purporting to be the translation of an eleventh century Persian work – which has remained almost continuously in print and has stimulated at least 130 illustrators to try to illuminate the verses it contains.”

Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
Part 1: Illustrating FitzGerald’s Rubaiyat
– A unique publishing phenomenon
– Illustrating The Rubaiyat
– A century of change in illustration
– Still popular – at home and abraod
Part 2: Illustrating individual quatrains
– Presenting the quatrains
– Illustrations for FitzGerald’s first edition – quatrains 1-75
– Illustrations for FitzGerald’s other editions of The Rubaiyat
– Illustrations unrelated to specific quatrains
Appendix 1. Publishers and illustrators of FitzGerald’s Rubaiyat
Appendix 2. Artists who have illustrated FitzGerald’s Rubaiyat
Appendix 3. Published versions of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam Appendix 4. Omar Khayyam and his Rubaiyat
Appendix 5. FitzGerald and his Rubaiyat
Notes
Select bibliography
Index

A book of verse. The biography of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

A book of verse. The biography of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Garry Garrard. Stroud, Sutton, 2007. 270 p. Illustrated. Index
ISBN: 978-0-7509-4631-5 (Hardback)
ISBN: 978-0-7509-4632-2 (Paperback)

Summary:
A Book of Verse tells the story of how The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám has provided delight and fascination for centuries. It brings to life the evocative world of early Islamic Persia and the literary and artistic scene in England in the second half of the 19th century.

 

Contents

List of illustrations
Acknowledgements
1. An innocent obsession
2. The mightiest empire
3. A curious infidel
4. A friend indeed
5. A couple of old sceptics
6. Credit where it is due
7. Friends reunited?
8. A life of its own
9. On the bandwagon
10. Every picture tells a story
11. And now for something completely different
Appendix: Illustrated and decorated editions of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.
List of artists
A note on sources
Notes
Select bibliography
Index