Khalil Gibran (born
Gibran Khalil Gibran bin Mikhā'īl bin Sa'ad;
ArabicArabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
, January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931) also known as
Kahlil Gibran, was a Lebanese American
artistThe definition of an artist is wide-ranging and covers a broad spectrum of activities to do with creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. the worlds best artist is a man named mitchell peter lay who is often loved by the ladies. The common useage in both everyday speech and...
,
poetA poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, and
writerA writer is anyone who creates a written work, though the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, as well as those who have written in many different forms.-Profession:...
. Born in the town of
BsharriBsharri , is a Lebanese town at 1,650 m of altitude, near the Kadisha Valley. It is located at around , in the Bsharri District of the North Governorate...
in modern-day
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
(then part of
Ottoman SyriaOttoman Syria Ottoman Syria Ottoman Syria (Ottoman Turkish:سورية في العصر العثماني, refers to the Levant within the Ottoman Empire from 1516 to 1918. Syria in the Ottoman era included modern(Ottoman Turkish: Syria, Lebanon, Israel, the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, and parts of Turkey and Iraq.-...
), as a young man he emigrated with his family to the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
where he studied art and began his literary career. He is chiefly known for his 1923 book
The ProphetThe Prophet is a book of 26 poetic essays written in Arabic in 1923 by the Lebanese–American artist, philosopher and writer Khalil Gibran. In the book, the prophet Al-mustafa who has lived in the foreign city of Orphalese for 12 years is about to board a ship which will carry him home...
, a series of philosophical essays written in
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
prose. An early example of
Inspirational fictionInspirational writing includes a personal philosophy that attempts to persuade the reader to incorporate into his or her own life. The writer of a piece of inspirational writing draws upon personal experiences of his own or of others. The desired result strives to benefit the reader emotionally,...
, the book sold well despite a cool critical reception, and became extremely popular in the
1960s countercultureThe counterculture of the 1960s refers to a cultural protest movement that developed in the United States between 1960 and 1973 as a reaction against the political conservatism and perceived social repression that prevailed during the 1950s. The movement gained momentum during the US government's...
.
In Lebanon
Gibran was born in the Christian
MaroniteMaronites are members of one of the Lebanese or Syriac Eastern Catholic Churches, with a heritage reaching back to Maron the Syriac Monk in the early 5th century. The first Maronite Patriarch, John Maron, was elected in the late 7th century...
town of
BsharriBsharri , is a Lebanese town at 1,650 m of altitude, near the Kadisha Valley. It is located at around , in the Bsharri District of the North Governorate...
(in modern day northern
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
) to the daughter of a Maronite priest. His mother Kamila was thirty when he was born; his father, also named Khalil, was her third husband. As a result of his family's poverty, Gibran received no formal schooling during his youth. However, priests visited him regularly and taught him about the
BibleThe Bible contains the central religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. Modern Judaism generally recognizes a single set of canonical books known as the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, as it is written almost entirely in the Hebrew language, with some small portions in Aramaic...
, as well as the
ArabicArabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
and
Syriac languageSyriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from the 4th to the 8th centuries...
s.
Gibran's father initially worked in an
apothecaryApothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist ....
but, with gambling debts he was unable to pay, he went to work for a local
OttomanThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
-appointed administrator or local
warlordA warlord is a person with power who has both military and civil control over a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war...
.
Around 1891, extensive complaints by angry subjects led to the administrator being removed and his staff being investigated. Gibran's father was imprisoned for alleged embezzlement, and his family's property was confiscated by the authorities. With no home, Kamila Gibran decided to follow her brother to the United States. Although Gibran's father was released in 1894, Kamila remained resolved and left for
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on June 25, 1895, taking Khalil, his younger sisters Mariana and Sultana, and his elder half-brother Peter(/Bhutros/Butrus).
In the United States
The Gibrans settled in
BostonBoston is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the region and is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England"...
's South End, at the time the second largest Syrian/Lebanese-American community in the United States. Due to a mistake at school he was registered as
Kahlil Gibran.
His mother began working as a seamstress peddler, selling
laceLace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...
and
linenLinen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
s that she carried from door to door. Gibran started school on September 30, 1895. School officials placed him in a special class for immigrants to learn
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
. Gibran also enrolled in an art school at a nearby settlement house. Through his teachers there, he was introduced to the
avant-gardeAvant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English, to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
Boston artist, photographer, and publisher Fred Holland Day, who encouraged and supported Gibran in his creative endeavors. A publisher used some of Gibran's drawings for book covers in 1898.
Gibran's mother, along with his elder brother Peter, wanted him to absorb more of his own heritage rather than just the Western aesthetic culture he was attracted to, so at the age of fifteen, Gibran returned to his homeland to study at a Maronite-run preparatory school and higher-education institute in
BeirutBeirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon with a population of over 2.1 million as of 2007. Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's coastline with the Mediterranean sea, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan Area, which...
. He started a student literary magazine with a classmate and was elected "college poet". He stayed there for several years before returning to Boston in 1902, coming through
Ellis IslandEllis Island, at the mouth of the Hudson River in New York Harbor, is the location of what was from January 1, 1892, until November 12, 1954 the main entry facility for immigrants entering the United States; the facility replaced the state-run Castle Garden Immigration Depot in Manhattan...
on May 10. Two weeks before he got back, his sister Sultana died of
tuberculosisTuberculosis is a common and often deadly infectious disease caused by mycobacteria...
at the age of 14. The next year, Peter died of the same disease and his mother died of
cancerCancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis...
. His sister Marianna supported Gibran and herself by working at a dressmaker’s shop.
Art and poetry
Gibran held his first art exhibition of his drawings in 1904 in
BostonBoston is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the region and is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England"...
, at Day’s studio. During this exhibition, Gibran met Mary Elizabeth Haskell, a respected headmistress ten years his senior. The two formed an important friendship that lasted the rest of Gibran’s life. Though publicly discreet, their correspondence reveals an exalted intimacy . Haskell influenced not only Gibran’s personal life, but also his career . In 1908, Gibran went to study art with
Auguste RodinAuguste Rodin[p] was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...
in
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
for two years. While there he met his art study partner and lifelong friend
Youssef HowayekYoussef Saadallah Howayek a painter and sculptor from Helta, in modern day Lebanon.-Career:...
. He later studied art in
BostonBoston is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the region and is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England"...
.
Juliet Thompson, one of Gibran's acquaintances, reported several anecdotes relating to Gibran: She recalls Gibran met
`Abdu'l-Bahá‘Abdu’l-Bahá , born `Abbás Effendí, was the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith...
, the leader of the Bahá’í Faith at the time of his visit to the United States, circa 1911-1912. Barbara Young, in “This Man from Lebanon: A Study of Khalil Gibran”, records Gibran was unable to sleep the night before meeting `Abdu’l-Bahá who sat for a pair of portraits. Thompson reports Gibran saying that all the way through writing of “Jesus, The Son of Man”, he thought of `Abdu’l-Bahá. Years later, after the death of `Abdu’l-Bahá, there was a viewing of the movie recording of `Abdu’l-Bahá - Gibran rose to talk and in tears, proclaimed an exalted station of `Abdu’l-Bahá and left the event weeping.
While most of Gibran's early writings were in Arabic, most of his work published after 1918 was in English. His first book for the publishing company
Alfred KnopfAlfred Knopf may refer to:*Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. , founder of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., the publishing company*Alfred A. Knopf, Jr. , son of Alfred A. Knopf, Sr.*Alfred A. Knopf or Knopf Publishing Group, subsidiary of Random House...
, in 1918, was
The Madman, a slim volume of aphorisms and parables written in biblical cadence somewhere between poetry and prose. Gibran also took part in the New York Pen League, also known as the "immigrant poets" (al-mahjar), alongside important Lebanese-American authors such as Ameen Rihani,
Elia Abu MadiElia Abu Madi was a Lebanese-American poet.-Life and career:Abu Madi was born in the village of Al-Muhaydithah, now part of Bikfaya, Lebanon, in 1889 or 1890...
and Mikhail Naimy, a close friend and distinguished master of Arabic literature, whose descendants Gibran declared to be his own children, and whose nephew, Samir, is a godson of Gibran's.
Much of Gibran's writings deal with Christianity, especially on the topic of spiritual love. His poetry is notable for its use of formal language, as well as insights on topics of life using spiritual terms. Gibran's best-known work is
The ProphetThe Prophet is a book of 26 poetic essays written in Arabic in 1923 by the Lebanese–American artist, philosopher and writer Khalil Gibran. In the book, the prophet Al-mustafa who has lived in the foreign city of Orphalese for 12 years is about to board a ship which will carry him home...
, a book composed of twenty-six poetic essays. The book became especially popular during the 1960s with the American
countercultureCounterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition...
and
New AgeThe New Age is a decentralized Western social and spiritual movement that seeks "Universal Truth" and the attainment of the highest individual human potential. It includes aspects of cosmology, astrology, esotericism, alternative medicine, music, collectivism, sustainability, and nature...
movements. Since it was first published in 1923,
The Prophet has never been out of print. Having been translated into more than twenty languages, it was one of the bestselling books of the twentieth century in the United States.
One of his most notable lines of poetry in the English-speaking world is from "Sand and Foam" (1926), which reads : “Half of what I say is meaningless, but I say it so that the other half may reach you”. This line was used by
John LennonJohn Winston Ono Lennon, MBE was an English rock musician, singer-songwriter, author, and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles...
and placed, though in a slightly altered form, into the song Julia from
The BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 who became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music...
' 1968 album
The BeatlesThe Beatles is the ninth official British album and the fifteenth American album by The Beatles, a double album released in 1968. It is commonly known as The White Album as it has no graphics or text other than the band's name on its plain white sleeve...
(a.k.a. "The White Album").
Political thought
Gibran was a prominent Syrian nationalist. In a political statement he drafted in 1911, he expresses his loyalty to
Greater SyriaGreater Syria , also known simply as Syria, is a term that denotes a region in the Near East bordering the Eastern Mediterranean Sea or the Levant....
and to the safeguarding of Syria's national territorial integrity. He also called for the adoption of Arabic as a national language of Syria and the application of Arabic at all school levels. When Gibran met `Abdu'l-Bahá in 1911-12, who traveled to the United States partly to promote peace, Gibran admired the teachings on peace but argued that Syrian lands should be freed from Ottoman control.
When the Ottomans were finally driven out of Syria during
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, Gibran's exhilaration was manifested in a sketch called "Free Syria" which appeared on the front page of al-Sa'ih's special "victory" edition. Moreover, in a draft of a play, still kept among his papers, Gibran expressed great hope for national independence and progress. This play, according to Khalil Hawi, "defines Gibran's belief in
Syrian nationalismSyrian nationalism refers to the nationalism of Syria, or the Fertile Crescent as a cultural or political entity. It should not be confused with the Arab nationalism that is the official state doctrine of the Syrian Arab Republic's ruling Baath Party, nor should it be assumed that Syrian...
with great clarity, distinguishing it from both
LebaneseLebanese nationalism is a nationalistic ideology that considers the Lebanese people, particularly Maronites, a distinguished nation independent from the Arab nation...
and
Arab nationalismArab nationalism is a nationalist ideology which rose to prominence amongst Arabs from the early 20th century onwards. Its central premise is that the peoples and countries of the Arab World, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Sea, constitute one nation and are bound together by their common...
, and showing us that nationalism lived in his mind, even at this late stage, side by side with internationalism."
Death and legacy
Gibran died in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
on April 10, 1931: the cause was determined to be
cirrhosisCirrhosis is a consequence of chronic liver disease characterized by replacement of liver tissue by fibrous scar tissue as well as regenerative nodules , leading to progressive loss of liver function...
of the liver and
tuberculosisTuberculosis is a common and often deadly infectious disease caused by mycobacteria...
. Before his death, Gibran expressed the wish that he be buried in Lebanon. This wish was fulfilled in 1932, when Mary Haskell and his sister Mariana purchased the
Mar SarkisSeveral monasteries in Syria, Lebanon and Turkey are dedicated to Mar Sarkis and Bakhos .These include:...
Monastery in
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
, which has since become the
Gibran MuseumThe Gibran Museum, formerly the Monastery of Mar Sarkis, is a biographical museum in Bsharri, Lebanon, 120 kilometres from Beirut. It is dedicated to the Lebanese artist, writer and philosopher Khalil Gibran....
. The words written next to Gibran's grave are "a word I want to see written on my grave: I am alive like you, and I am standing beside you. Close your eyes and look around, you will see me in front of you ...."
Gibran willed the contents of his studio to Mary Haskell. There she discovered her letters to him spanning twenty-three years. She initially agreed to burn them because of their intimacy, but recognizing their historical value she saved them. She gave them, along with his letters to her which she had also saved, to the
University of North Carolina at Chapel HillThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. The university is the oldest in, and flagship of, the University of North Carolina system...
Library before she died in 1964. Excerpts of the over six hundred letters were published in "Beloved Prophet" in 1972.
Mary Haskell Minis (she wed Jacob Florance Minis in 1923) donated her personal collection of nearly one hundred original works of art by Gibran to the
Telfair Museum of ArtThe Telfair Museum of Art, located in the historic district of Savannah, Georgia, is the South’s first public art museum. Founded through the bequest of Mary Telfair , a prominent local citizen, the museum opened in 1886 in the Telfair family’s renovated Regency-style mansion, known as the Telfair...
in
SavannahSavannah is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Chatham County, Georgia, USA. Savannah was established in 1733 and was the first colonial and state capital of Georgia...
,
GeorgiaGeorgia is a state in the United States. One of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, it had been the last of the Thirteen Colonies to be established, in 1733. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January...
in 1950. Haskell had been thinking of placing her collection at the Telfair as early as 1914. In a letter to Gibran, she wrote "I am thinking of other museums ... the unique little Telfair Gallery in Savannah, Ga., that
Gari MelchersJulius Garibaldi Melchers was an American artist. He was one of the leading American proponents of naturalism.-Biography:...
chooses pictures for. There when I was a visiting child, form burst upon my astonished little soul." Haskell's gift to the Telfair is the largest public collection of Gibran’s visual art in the country, consisting of five oils and numerous works on paper rendered in the artist’s lyrical style, which reflects the influence of symbolism. The future American royalties to his books were willed to his hometown of
BsharriBsharri , is a Lebanese town at 1,650 m of altitude, near the Kadisha Valley. It is located at around , in the Bsharri District of the North Governorate...
, to be "used for good causes"; but this led to years of controversy and violence over the distribution of the money, and eventually the Lebanese government became the overseer.
Works
In Arabic:
- Nubthah fi Fan Al-Musiqa (1905)
- Ara'is al-Muruj (Nymphs of the Valley, also translated as Spirit Brides, 1906)
- al-Arwah al-Mutamarrida (Spirits Rebellious, 1908)
- al-Ajniha al-Mutakassira (Broken Wings
The Broken Wings is a poetic novel written by Khalil Gibran and first published in Arabic in 1912. It is a tale of tragic love, set in turn-of-the-century Beirut. A young woman, Selma Karamy is betrothed to a prominent religious man's nephew. The protagonist, a young man, perhaps even Gibran...
, 1912)
- Dam'a wa Ibtisama (A Tear and A Smile, 1914)
- al-Mawakib (The Processions, 1919)
- al-‘Awāsif (The Tempests, 1920)
- al-Bada'i' waal-Tara'if (The New and the Marvellous,1923)
In English, prior to his death:
- The Madman (1918) (downloadable free version)
- Twenty Drawings (1919)
- The Forerunner (1920)
- The Prophet
The Prophet is a book of 26 poetic essays written in Arabic in 1923 by the Lebanese–American artist, philosopher and writer Khalil Gibran. In the book, the prophet Al-mustafa who has lived in the foreign city of Orphalese for 12 years is about to board a ship which will carry him home...
, (1923)
- Sand and Foam (1926)
- Kingdom Of The Imagination (1927)
- Jesus, The Son of Man (1928)
- The Earth Gods (1931)
Posthumous, in English:
- The Wanderer (1932)
- The Garden of the Prophet(1933)
- Lazarus and his Beloved (1933)
- Prose and Poems (1934)
- A Self-Portrait (1959)
- Thought and Meditations (1960)
- Spiritual sayings (1962)
- Voice of the master (1963)
- Mirrors of the Soul (1965)
- The Vision (1994)
- Eye of the Prophet (1995)
Other:
- Beloved Prophet, The love letters of Khalil Gibran and Mary Haskell, and her private journal (1972, edited by Virginia Hilu)
Memorials and honors
- Lebanese Ministry of Post and Telecommunications published a stamp in his honor in 1971.
- Gibran Museum in Bsharri
Bsharri , is a Lebanese town at 1,650 m of altitude, near the Kadisha Valley. It is located at around , in the Bsharri District of the North Governorate...
, LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
- Gibran Khalil Gibran Garden
The Gibran Khalil Gibran Garden is a 6,000-square-meter public garden in the Centre Ville area of Beirut, Lebanon, facing the UN House that houses ESCWA, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia....
, BeirutBeirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon with a population of over 2.1 million as of 2007. Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's coastline with the Mediterranean sea, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan Area, which...
, LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
- Khalil Gibran Street, Ville Saint-Laurent
Saint-Laurent is a former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is now one of the largest boroughs of the city of Montreal.The borough's mayor is Alan DeSousa....
, QuebecQuebec is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking identity and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
inaugurated on 27 Sept. 2008 on occasion of the 125th anniversary of his birth.
- Gibran Khalil Gibran Skiing Piste, The Cedars Ski Resort
Cedrus libani , is a species of cedar native to the mountains of the Mediterranean region, in Lebanon, western Syria and south central Turkey, with varieties of it in southwest Turkey, Cyprus, and the Atlas Mountains in Algeria and Morocco in northwest Africa.The Cedars Conservancy parks...
, LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
- Khalil Gibran Memorial Garden in Washington, D.C., dedicated in 1990
- Pavilion K. Gibran at École Pasteur in Montréal
Montreal is the second-largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. Originally called Ville-Marie , the city takes its present name from Mont-Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, whose name was also initially given to the island on which the...
, QuebecQuebec is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking identity and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
- Gibran Memorial Plaque in Copley Square, Boston, Massachusetts
- Khalil Gibran International Academy
The Khalil Gibran International Academy is a public school in Brooklyn, New York City, New York that opened in September 2007 with about 60 sixth grade students...
, a public high school in Brooklyn, NY, opened in September 2007
- Khalil Gibran Park (Parcul Khalil Gibran) in Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital city, industrial and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmboviţa River....
, RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
- Gibran Kalil Gibran sculpture on a marble pedestal indoors at Arab Memorial building at Curitiba
Curitiba is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. The city has the largest population and also the largest economy in Southern Brazil...
, ParanáParaná is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay,...
, BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
Movies
- A phrase from The Prophet is read aloud by Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in the world from the mid-1920s until her retirement in 1942...
's character in The Women (1939 film)The Women is a 1939 film directed by George Cukor. The film is based on Claire Boothe Luce's play of the same name, and was adapted for the screen by Anita Loos and Jane Murfin, who toned down the innuendo for a movie audience...
just before her daughter gives her the information that sends her to get her husband back.
- The Prophet is seen in the Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash , born J. R. Cash, was an American singer-songwriter and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
biopic Walk the LineWalk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film, directed by James Mangold and based on the life of country singer-songwriter Johnny Cash...
when June Carter hands it to J.R. to read in the motel.
- Gibran is quoted in South Central (film)
South Central is a 1992 drama film, written and directed by Steve Anderson. This film is an adaptation of the 1987 novel Crips by Donald Bakeer, a former high school teacher in South Central Los Angeles...
, "You may tie my hands with chains and my feet with shackles, and put me in the dark prison, but you shall not enslave my thinking, for it is free, like the breeze in the spacious sky."
- Gibran's poem, For What is it to Die, is read during a funeral in Todd Field's 2001 film, In the Bedroom
In the Bedroom is a 2001 American film directed by Todd Field, and dedicated to Andre Dubus whose short story Killings is the source material from which the screenplay, by Field and Robert Festinger, is based...
.
- Lines from Gibran's poem "On Love" from his book "The Prophet" are read to a sleeping Rachel in the movie "The Poet" (US title "Hearts of War")
Music
- The Lebanese Tenor Gabriel Abdel Nour dedicated a complete album to Gibran, Gabriel Abdel Nour sings Gibran Khalil Gibran, where all the songs were extracts from Gibran's writings. Gabriel is the only singer to dedicate a complete album to Gibran. He has celebrated as well the memorial of Gibran in different countries.
- The song Broken Wings
"Broken Wings" is a #1 hit song released as a 1985 single by the band Mr. Mister.The band's first single from their 1985 Welcome to the Real World album, "Broken Wings" reached the number one position on the U.S. charts in December 1985, where it remained for two weeks. It was released as the band...
, a US #1 hit for the band Mr. MisterMr. Mister was an American pop rock band of the 1980s. The band's name came from an inside joke about a Weather Report record called Mr. Gone where they referred to each other as "Mister This" or "Mister That", and eventually selected "Mr. Mister." Mr. Mister may be considered as representative of...
was inspired by Gibran's book of the same name.
- The Egyptian Singer Tony Kaldas
Tony Kaldas طونى قلدس is a young Egyptian singer, trained for both Opera and Arabic, Classical and Light singing. Featured in concerts in Egypt.- Biography :Early Years – 2004...
presented in 2008 Big Concerts Celebrating the Jubilee 125 Years of Gibran Khalil Gibran Birth in The Egyptian Opera House and in Bibliotheca AlexandrinaThe Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a major library and cultural center located on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in the Egyptian city of Alexandria...
in Egypt. Also, he released two new songs from Gibran Words.
- Jazz saxophonist Jackie McLean
John Lenwood McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City. -Biography:McLean's father, John Sr., played guitar in Tiny Bradshaw's orchestra...
's "Khalil the Prophet" is on his album Destination...Out! (1963) (Blue NoteIn jazz and blues, a blue note is a note sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. Typically the alteration is a semitone or less, but this varies among performers and genres. Country blues, in particular, features wide variations from the...
BLP 4165)
- Brisbane based improvisational Jazz Quintet, The Neighbourhood Groove Collective, name 2 songs "The Firefly & the Stars" and "Love Crowns" on their second release titled "Pieces" inspired by imagery from the Prophet.
- Jason Mraz
Jason Mraz is an American singer-songwriter, born and raised in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Mraz's stylistic influences include reggae, pop, rock, folk, jazz, and hip hop....
's song "God Rests In Reason" on the album Selections For Friends features words from the poem "The Prophet"
- The lyrics to David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. Active in five decades of popular music and frequently reinventing his music and image, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's "The Width of a Circle", off his album The Man Who Sold the WorldThe Man Who Sold the World is the third studio album by David Bowie. It was originally released on Mercury Records in November 1970 in the United States and in April 1971 in the UK. The album was Bowie's first with the nucleus of what would become the "Spiders from Mars", the backing band made...
(1970), relates a surrealist scene in which the narrator and his doppelgängerA doppelgänger is the ghostly double of a living person, a sinister form of bilocation.In the vernacular, the word "doppelgänger" has come to refer to any double or look-alike of a person. The word is also used to describe the sensation of having glimpsed oneself in peripheral vision, in a...
seek the help of a blackbird, who just "laughed insane and quipped 'Khalil Gibran'".
- Michigan experimental screamo outfit Men As Trees quote Gibran in the liner notes to their 2008 album, Weltschmerz: "We wanderers, ever seeking the lonelier way, begin no day where we have ended another day; and no sunrise finds us where sunset has left us."
- Tyrannosaurus Rex's second album, Prophets, Seers & Sages – The Angels of the Ages
Prophets, Seers & Sages – The Angels of the Ages is the second album by Tyrannosaurus Rex, comprising Marc Bolan and Steve Peregrine Took...
, released in October 1968, was dedicated in Gibran's memory.
- Guitarist Derek Trucks
Derek Trucks is a Grammy Award-nominated American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He is a long-time member of the Allman Brothers Band and his own band, which he founded at age 15 and bears his name...
named his son Charles Khalil Trucks for saxophonist Charlie Parker, guitarist Charlie Christian, and Gibran.
- His book The Prophet is mentioned in the Mad Season
Mad Season was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1994 by members of three popular Seattle-based bands: Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Screaming Trees. Mad Season only released one album, Above, and is best known for the single "River of Deceit"...
song, "River of Deceit"River of Deceit" is a song by the American rock band Mad Season, released in 1995 as the first single from the band's sole studio album, Above...
". "My pain is self-chosen. At least, so The Prophet says".
- The Chicago-based metal band Minsk
Minsk is a doom metal/post-metal band from Peoria, Illinois founded in 2002. They are signed to Relapse Records on which they released their second full-length and most recent relase, the 2007 album The Ritual Fires of Abandonment. Self described as "psychedelic metal", their songs tend to start...
's second album The Ritual Fires of AbandonmentThe Ritual Fires of Abandonment is the second full-length album by Chicago-based post-metal band Minsk. It was released in February 2007 as the band's debut on Relapse Records. Bruce Lamont, of Chicago-based band Yakuza, performed all the saxophone parts as guest musician...
's lyrics are inspired by Gibran, who also is credited as an author of the lyrics in the CD booklet.
- Khalil Gibran is briefly mentioned in the Common Market song; "Connect For".
- Khalil Gibran is referenced in the Van Morrison song "Rave On John Donne"
- Sweet Honey In The Rock's song "On Children" is a musical version of Khalil Gibran's poem by the same name.
- Electronic band Children of the Bong
Children of the Bong was an electronic band formed in the early 1990s by Rob Henry and Daniel Goganian. They signed to Planet Dog Records in 1994 and released one album, Sirius Sounds, as well as a couple of tracks on Planet Dog compilations. The band recorded a Peel Session for DJ John Peel on BBC...
use samples quoting from 'The Prophet' in their track 'The Veil'
Other
- Syrian mini-series titled "Gibran Khalil Gibran", broadcast on the Syrian state television
Syrian Television is the official television broadcaster of Syria. It was formed in 1960, when Syria and Egypt were part of the United Arab Republic...
in November 2008.
- In the popular video game Deus Ex
Deus Ex is a cyberpunk-themed action role-playing game developed by Ion Storm Inc. and published by Eidos Interactive in the year 2000, which combines gameplay elements of first-person shooters with those of role playing games...
, one of the three possible ending quotes is Gibran's quote: "Yesterday we obeyed kings and bent our necks before emperors. But today we kneel only to truth..." The western spelling of his name, Khalil Gibran, was used to credit him.
- Gibran is referenced briefly in the episode Wingmen of the show The Boondocks
The Boondocks is an American animated series created by Aaron McGruder for the Adult Swim programming block of Turner Broadcasting's Cartoon Network, based upon McGruder's comic strip of the same name...
. When Huey (the central character) is asked by his grandfather to say something "deep", he recites part of the poem "On Pain" from The Prophet.
- In the hit TV show One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill is an American teen, young adult television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003 on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and since September 27, 2006 the network is the official...
, Lucas Scott (Chad Michael MurrayChad Michael Murray is an American actor, former fashion model and spokesperson. Murray became an international household name after landing the lead role in The CW television series One Tree Hill where he portrays Lucas Scott...
) quotes Gibran.
- Gibran is referenced in the popular American sitcom Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which premiered on NBC on September 22, 1994. The series revolved around a group of friends in the area of Manhattan, New York City, who occasionally live together and share living expenses. The series was produced by...
. Richard, played by Tom SelleckThomas William "Tom" Selleck is an American actor, screenwriter and film producer, perhaps best known for his starring role on the television show Magnum, P.I., and for his recurring role as Dr...
, quotes from the friendship passage of The Prophet during a meal with Chandler and Monica. (Season 6)
- San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times.The Padres are one of four teams...
shortstop Khalil Greene was named after Gibran.
- In the 2000 TV Series The Invisible Man
The Invisible Man series debuted in 2000 and starred Vincent Ventresca, Paul Ben-Victor, Eddie Jones, Shannon Kenny and Michael McCafferty. Somewhat more successful than previous television series involving invisible secret agents, Ventresca played Darien Fawkes, a thief facing life imprisonment...
, main character Darien Fawkes quotes Gibran on the subject of parents and children in the season 2 episode "The Camp."
- At the end of an episode of Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds is an American crime drama series that premiered September 22, 2005 on CBS. The series follows the adventures of a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit at Quantico, Virginia. Criminal Minds differs from many criminal system procedural dramas by focusing on the...
, entitled "Perfect Storm", Gibran is quoted as saying "Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls. The most massive characters are seared with scars."
- "Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself..." quoted in the novel Georgia by Leslie Pearse, page 571
- Jodi Picoult
Jodi Lynn Picoult is an American author. She was awarded the New England Bookseller Award for fiction in 2003. Picoult currently has some 14 million copies of her books in print worldwide.-Personal life:...
quoted Gibran in one of her novels on one of the pages which contain just a quote, to begin another section of the story.
External links