Iranians Commemorate Persian poet, mathematician and philosopher Hakim Omar Khayyam on May 17. The poet is best known for his Rubaiyat (quatrains), popularized through Edward FitzgeraldÕs re-created translation.

Khayyam’s poetry combines reflection and imagination, said a researcher on the works of the renowned Iranian poet, mathematician and philosopher Hakim Omar Khayyam.
Speaking to ISNA on the eve of Khayyam Day on May 17, Morteza Kakhi said, “Poetry is the combination of imagination and thought in a versified language, and this is quite evident in Khayyam’s works.“
He added that Khayyam’s poetry is abundant with similes and images of human and heaven which reflect his powerful imagination. Moreover, it blends imagination with deep reflections about life.
“Khayyam is best known for his poetry, and outside Iran, for the Rubaiyat (quatrains) popularized through Edward Fitzgerald’s re-created translation,“ he said.
Khayyam’s poetic work has eclipsed his fame as a mathematician and scientist. However, he is a great historical treasure whose many unknown dimensions will be discovered by future generations, the researcher added.
Meanwhile, noted literate Bahaeddin Khorramshahi said that there is an ambiguity in Khayyam’s quatrains.
“Generally, genuine literary works expose more than one meaning and this can be found in Khayyam’s poetry as well. As a literary rule, there is always a literal meaning (word by word) as well as a deep notion which can be derived from the surface structure through interpretation,“ he said.
Khorramshahi noted that among the poets who are most influenced by Khayyam, are Khwaja Shams ud-Din Muhammad Hafez-e Shirazi and Farideddin Mohammad bin Ibrahim Attar Neishabouri.
He added that Attar’s anthology ’Mokhtarnameh’ has been highly inspired by Khayyam’s poetry.
Khayyam’s substantial mathematical contributions include his Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra, which gives a geometric method for solving cubic equations by intersecting a hyperbola with a circle.

Pablo Picasso

An exhibition featuring the works of prominent Spanish painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso is underway at Asem Zanjani Gallery in Zanjan province.
According to IRNA, the event which has on display 80 tableaux by the artist runs until Tuesday.
As one of the most recognized figures in 20th-century art, he is best known for co-founding the Cubist movement and for the wide variety of styles embodied in his work.
Among his most famous works are the proto-Cubist Les Demoiselles d’Avignon and ’Guernica’ which depicts the German bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War.