The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam as translated into English by Edward Fitzgerald is one of our best-loved books of poetry - and for good reason. Cynical, self-deprecating, witty, mystical, in love with wine and beauty while aware of life and death, Omar's poems put many thoughts we have all had into words we can all enjoy.Fitzgerald first published his translations of Omar's quatrains in 1859, and came out with expanded editions in the later years of the 19th century. This recording draws out the best and most lively versions of each quatrain and links them together thematically, following Fitzgerald's developing arrangements to bring out the bist in his work - and Omar Khayyam's. |