Since leaving his homeland after the Iranian revolution in 1979, Kuros Amouzgar witnessed his children and many other second generation Iranians who were eager to learn more about their own heritage, but who were unable to read the language of their parents.
He decided to use the quatrains of Omar Khayyam as a vehicle to introduce a small section of Persian literature, philosophy and culture to his children and grandchildren's generation. Khayyam's poems are well-known both in the Persian original and in the English speaking world through the translations of Edward FitzGerald. Unfortunately, for the student, FitzGerald's literary and inspirational poem are not exact translations of the Persian.
In this volume, each poem is presented in the original Persian in both the Persian and Latin alphabet. In addition a literal translation and the corresponding poetic translation by FitzGerald are given. The more difficult terms are further explained. Also included is a Persian-English glossary.
Though educated as an engineer, Kuros Amouzgar is interested in the sciences, literature and philosophy. He is also the author of the Persian language 365 Daily Meditations of the Dalai Lama. He lives in Washington DC.