Omar Khayyam: Ruba'iyat

Publisher Marketing: OMAR KHAYYAM: RUBA'IYAT Translation & Introduction Paul Smith Reprint of 1909 Introduction by R. A. Nicholson Omar Khayyam (died 1132) was one of the early masters of the Persian poetic form of the ruba'i... so much so that many in collections of these profound, philosophic, mystical, sometimes controversial poems were often attributed to him, although many were by other great Persian poets such as 'Attar, Sadi, Rumi and Hafiz. More famous in Iran as an astronomer and mathematician... the sometimes nihilistic and hedonistic and occasionally Sufi philosophy in his ruba'is meant that his poems were never really popular in his homeland, but after the interpretations of Edward FitzGerald the west fell in love with him. Introduction: The Life and Times of Omar Khayyam and his work as a Scientist & Philosopher and a history of the ruba'i and examples by its greatest exponents and a chapter on the various translations into English and other languages. Selected bibliography. The correct rhyme-structure is here, the beauty and meaning of these fatalistic, intoxicated, loving, sometimes mystical and often satirical 186 four-line poems. Large format 7" x 10" 280 pages. COMMENTS ON PAUL SMITH'S TRANSLATION OF HAFIZ'S 'DIVAN'. "It is not a joke... the English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafiz is a great feat and of paramount importance. I am astonished. If he comes to Iran I will kiss the fingertips that wrote such a masterpiece inspired by the Creator of all." Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran. "Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 1% Paul Smith." Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator of many works into Persian and knower of Hafiz's Divan off by heart. "Smith has probably put together the greatest collection of literary facts and history concerning Hafiz." Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin Books author). Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of over 150 books of Sufi poets of the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages... including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, Lalla Ded, Rahman Baba, Bulleh Shah, Ghalib, Iqbal and many others, as well as poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books and screenplays. www.newhumanitybooksbookheaven.com Contributor Bio:  Khayyam, Omar Omar Khayyam; born (18 May 1048 - 4 December 1131), was a Persian mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, and poet. He also wrote treatises on mechanics, geography, mineralogy, music, and Islamic theology. Born in Nishapur in North Eastern Iran, at a young age he moved to Samarkand and obtained his education there. Afterwards he moved to Bukhara and became established as one of the major mathematicians and astronomers of the medieval period. He is the author of one of the most important treatises on algebra written before modern times, the Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra, which includes a geometric method for solving cubic equations by intersecting a hyperbola with a circle. He contributed to a calendar reform. His significance as a philosopher and teacher, and his few remaining philosophical works, have not received the same attention as his scientific and poetic writings. Al-Zamakhshari referred to him as "the philosopher of the world." He taught the philosophy of Avicenna for decades in Nishapur, where Khayyam was born and buried. His mausoleum there remains a masterpiece of Iranian architecture visited by many people every year. Outside Iran and Persian speaking countries, Khayyam has had an impact on literature and societies through the translation of his works and popularization by other scholars. The greatest such impact was in English-speaking countries; the English scholar Thomas Hyde (1636-1703) was the first non-Persian to study him. The most influential of all was Edward FitzGerald (1809-83), who made Khayyam the most famous poet of the East in the West through his celebrated translation and adaptations of Khayyam's rather small number of quatrains in the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Omar Khayyam died in 1131 and is buried in the Khayyam Garden at the mausoleum of Imamzadeh Mahruq in Nishapur. In 1963, the mausoleum of Omar Khayyam was constructed on the site by Hooshang Seyhoun. Contributor Bio:  Smith, Paul Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of over 150 books of Sufi poets of the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu'in, Amir Khusrau, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Omar Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, Bulleh Shah, Shah Latif, Khushal Khan Khattak, Ghalib and many others, and his own poetry, fiction, childrens books, plays, biographies and a dozen screenplays. www.newhumanitybooksbookheaven.com