COVE

All books tell stories within the pages, but all books have stories as to WHY they were made- in the real world. We’ve gone over the basics about Rubáiyát of Ohow Dryyam and what it depicts: how difficult sobriety was during the Prohibition era of the 1920s. From that, we can assume that’s why it was made, to be a piece of propaganda against the ruling, as Rubáiyát of Ohow Dryyam was published in 1922. Published only two years after the act, so we see how impactful the Prohibition was to the public. But why Rubáiyát of Ohow Dryyam? Why did J.L. Duff create this? What is Rubáiyát of Ohow Dryyam’s story?

With a name like J.L Duff, it’s clear this author’s got a pen name. But it makes sense, they’re literally going after the federal government of America for their laws- which have never been taken kindly to, ever. And from this pen name, we don’t know Duff’s gender, age, ethnicity, or even if they were born in America. All we know is that they were there when the Prohibition act was passed, and understood the troubles American faced while trying for sobriety; we do not know if Duff experienced this personally, but to write such a passionate piece? Duff definitely had a deep connection to the effect of this act.

A little more about Duff: they are featured on ‘famous poets’ (see Figure 1), for their work on this piece; however, nothing else is published from this author. But, from knowing about Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, Duff clearly loves medieval Literature, and has a great sense of humor, shown through their parody writing of the Rubáiyát. But their interests are just that. Sorry to say, but the Rubáiyát of Ohow Dryyam is just history. There is absolutely nothing about J.L. Duff, nor the illustrator, Benj. Franklin. History that we can never go back and time to ask Duff what the story is behind writing this parody: we can only look at the fact of the Rubáiyát of Ohow Dryyam’s publication. It was made against the Prohibition act of 1920, using the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám format to talk about the American power and if it was right to abuse their power against their population who was suffering due to withdrawal. Also, we can assume Duff really knew of, and respected, Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám not just due to replicating it, but as they referenced and apologized to Khayyám for making such a satire piece off of his philosophical work (and did not mention FitzGerald). Duff must’ve known how big the Rubáiyát was, and decided to bank on that for the success of their propaganda. Duff showed immense respect to Khayyám, therefore I’d like to think Duff was either a history, or literature, educated individual. And unfortunately, Duff is just the name. 

 However, Duff is a pen name, so hopefully, they still published great works with their real name and received support- as Rubáiyát of Ohow Dryyam showed their talent in writing and ability to reach, and know, their audiences. Books have stories, but sometimes, history makes us lose those stories, cementing them in those past times where we cannot reach in the present.