The Quatrains of Omar Kheyyam of Nishapour

The title of this collection reads "The quatrains of Omar Kheyyam of Nishapour. Now first completely done into English verse from the Persian, in accordance with the original forms, with a biographical and critical introduction by John Payne. London, "Printed for the Villon Society by private subscription and for private circulation only, 1898."

Poet and translator, John Payne is known today for his translations of Persian classics like The Thousand and One Nights and the poetry of Hafiz. He also published a complete translation of the Decameron.

In the introduction to this collection, which is probably the most extensive English translation of Khayyam's poetry, Payne takes issue with several previous translations. In particular he cites Whinfield's for its lack of poetic merit and Fitzgerald's for the extravagant liberties it takes with the original text. In its search for accuracy, Payne's own translation often features strained verbiage and use of archaic and unfamiliar English vocabulary.

Read by Algy Pug

This recording was originally published by Librivox on 17th October, 2021

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