COVE

This version of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám is a parody named “The Rubaiyat of Doc Sifers.” It was written by James Whitcomb Riley and published by The Century Co. in 1897. James Whitcomb Riley was very popular by the time this was published, so it kind of flies under the radar of his published works. The Century Co. was also a very popular book company at the time, with many published titles under their belt. The book was illustrated by Charles M. Relyea, an illustrator from Albany, New York. Funnily enough, when he was hired to do the illustrations, James Whitcomb Riley insisted he come to Indiana (where the book takes place) so he could capture the proper idea of Indiana (VanAllen). It was also his first major work as an illustrator. While the cover still has some color left to it, all of the illustrations on the inside were done in black and white on purpose. They are realistic depictions of what is usually happening in the story at the time. There are 111 pages total and I don’t know what edition it is, as it has 105 quatrains.

I think what makes this parody special is just how not special it is. Sure it has gilded letters, fancy cardstock pages, and a textured cloth cover. But that's where it ends. Everything about this book whose siblings were widely considered “gift books” is seemingly plain. Just a story about a funny doctor. But if we consider why James Whitcomb Riley wanted an accurate depiction of Indiana, or the fact that one of the first pages says, “Dedicated to Dr. Franklin W. Hays, The loyal chum of my latest youth and like friend and comrade still with all grateful affection of the author,” a wider picture is starting to come into view. I was able to confirm that “Dr. Franklin W. Hays” was an actual person that James Whitcomb Riley knew. Hays gave away a signed edition (from Riley to him) of the poem to one of his friends, inscribing it himself along with the original inscription from Riley. The entire book is a gift, not just the physical idea of it, but the story that this book contains. Riley wrote it about Hays, of that I’m sure. As for the why, that is still stumping me. The contents take great liberties, getting rid of the “nail in the heart” AABA rhyme scheme in favor of the much more pleasing ABAB rhyme scheme that is more smooth to the Western reader, so I imagine he did this so it would sell better. It also does away with the religious questioning present in the original, adopting a much more positive voice when it comes to listening to God.