Omar Khayyam

In the eleventh century, in Persia, there lived a mathematician named Ghiyathuddin Abulfath Omar bin Ibrahim al-Khayyami--or, Omar, son of Abraham, the tent-maker. Omar wrote poetry, and while his rhymes received little attention in their day, they were rediscovered and translated into beautiful English--more than seven centuries later--by a gentleman and scholar named Edward FitzGerald. It was a meeting of minds, a great collaboration of the past...

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam is one of the best-known examples of Persian poetry. Although commercially unsuccessful at first, FitzGerald's work was popularised from 1861 onward by Whitley Stokes, and the work came to be greatly admired by the Pre-Raphaelites in England.

The Moving Finger writes; and having writ, Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it. --From the Rubaiyat The best-selling poem of all time, Omar Khayaam₂s Rubaiyat (₃Quatrains₄), was first published in the West in 1859 by translator Edward FitzGerald. Excerpts from his well-loved version appear here, accompanied by Bird Parliament, a delightful work by Khayyam₂s contemporary,...

Khayyam. As a work of English literature FitzGerald's version of these poems, originally written in the Persian language, is a high point of the 19th century and has been greatly influential. - Amazon.