I do not know whetehr you are aware that Nabokov was dissapointed in Fitgeralds adaptation after reading Burgess' article 'Omar and Graves', which is to be found in his Urgent Copy. Arberry has made a more faithful rendering, but not in quatrains, as did John Payne before him of Khayyams poetry.

2009/2/14 Nabokv-L <nabokv-l@utk.edu>

Subject:
Fitzgerald's Rubaiyat

From:
Carolyn Kunin <chaiselongue@earthlink.net>

Date:
Fri, 13 Feb 2009 10:45:05 -0800

To:
Vladimir Nabokov Forum <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>

>We know VN was disappointed after he realized Fitzgerald's was not true to the original poems. - - Jansy

Dear Jansy,

In this matter I have to say Nabokov was extremely foolish. He would throw away the Fitzgerald Rubaiyat! Interestingly, it is the only poem in English that gives some idea of the rhythmic richness of Russian poetry. But of course this is a very personal opinion.

Re: Eberthella Hurley

Since I have just recently embarked on my first assay at reading Thomas Hardy, I never would have noticed before that this may be a reference to Hardy's Ethelberta.

Carolyn

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