Nicola’s Books, Ann Arbor: An Evening with Juan Cole

Tuesday, Oct 27 2020 – 7:00 pm ET

Our friend Juan Cole is joining us on Facebook LIVE to discuss his new book The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam A New Translation from the Persian.

A Q+A will follow.

ABOUT THE BOOK: A repository of subversive, joyous and existentialist themes and ideas, the rubaiyat (quatrains) that make up the collected poems attributed to the 12th century Persian astronomer Omar Khayyam have enchanted readers for centuries. In this modern translation, complete with critical introduction and epilogue, Juan Cole elegantly renders the verse for contemporary readers. Exploring such universal questions as the meaning of life, fate and how to live a good life in the face of human mortality, this translation reveals anew why this singular collection of poems has struck a chord with such a temporally and culturally diverse audience, from the wine houses of medieval Iran to the poets of Western twentieth century modernism.

“’To read Juan Cole’s deft, plain-spoken translation of the Rubáiyát
is to find companionship, to rejoin a thousand-year human
conversation about how to endure, enjoy, and find a fleeting beauty
in everlastingly dire times. The lucid, cogent and mind-opening
Epilogue is a kind of grace, a gift freely given, from one of our
most astonishing and generous intellects.’”

– Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Moonglow (2017)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Juan R. I. Cole is Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan. For three and a half decades, he has sought to put the relationship of the West and the Muslim world in historical context. His most recent book is The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: A New Translation from the Persian. Among his other recent works are Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires (Bold Type Books, 2018) and The New Arabs: How the Millennial Generation is Changing the Middle East (Simon & Schuster, 2014). He has translated works of Lebanese-American author Kahlil Gibran. He has appeared widely on media, including the PBS News Hour, ABC World News Tonight, Nightline, the Today Show, Anderson Cooper 360, Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes’ All In, CNN, the Colbert Report, Democracy Now! and many others. He has written about Egypt, Iran, Iraq, the Gulf and South Asia and about both extremist groups and peace movements.

Remember, on Facebook LIVE at 7 pm ET, Tuesday October 27.

Nicola’s Books
Ships books online; has Curbside Pickup
Is Open.
Westgate Shopping Center,
2513 Jackson Avenue,
Ann Arbor, MI 48103

The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam: A New Translation from the Persian (Paperback)

By Omar Khayyam, Juan R. I. Cole (Translator) $32.34 ISBN: 9780755600519 Availability: On Our Shelves Now Published: I. B. Tauris & Company – April 30th, 2020

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