A critical exploration of the life’s work of one of the twentieth century’s most important philosophers and poets, Kahlil GibranThrough his fiction, essays, poems, and art, Kahlil Gibran inspired a devoted international following and transformed modern Arabic literature. In this book, Joseph P. Ghougassian brings together the philosophical elements present across Gibran’s diverse writings, including his bestselling work The Prophet , as well as other significant works such as The Broken Wings , which tells the story of doomed young lovers, and the collection of aphorisms in Sand and Foam . Excerpts from Gibran’s letters provide a window into his mind, heart, and soul, creating a biography of this groundbreaking, mystical writer unlike any other. This systematic collection introduces Gibran as a “people’s philosopher,” who used simple, straightforward language to reveal a worldview of rich, deep meaning.
Kahlil Gibran (Arabic: جبران خليل جبران) was a Lebanese-American artist, poet, and writer. Born in the town of Bsharri in modern-day Lebanon (then part of Ottoman Mount Lebanon), as a young man he emigrated with his family to the United States where he studied art and began his literary career. In the Arab world, Gibran is regarded as a literary and political rebel. His romantic style was at the heart of a renaissance in modern Arabic literature, especially prose poetry, breaking away from the classical school. In Lebanon, he is still celebrated as a literary hero. He is chiefly known in the English-speaking world for his 1923 book The Prophet, an early example of inspirational fiction including a series of philosophical essays written in poetic English prose. The book sold well despite a cool critical reception, gaining popularity in the 1930s and again, especially in the 1960s counterculture. Gibran is the third best-selling poet of all time, behind Shakespeare and Lao-Tzu.