Gibran, Khalil

orig. Jubran Khalil Jubran

born Jan. 6, 1883, Bsharrī, Leb.

died April 10, 1931, New York, N.Y., U.S.

Lebanese-born U.S. philosophical essayist, novelist, poet, and artist.

He immigrated with his parents to Boston in 1895 and later settled in New York City. His works, written in both Arabic and English, are full of lyrical outpourings and express his deeply religious and mystical nature. The Prophet (1923), a book of poetic essays, achieved cult status among American youth for several generations.

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▪ Lebanese-American author

Gibran also spelled  Jibran , Khalil also spelled  Kahlil , Arabic name in full  Jubrān Khalīl Jubrān 

born Jan. 6, 1883, Bsharrī, Lebanon

died April 10, 1931, New York, N.Y., U.S.

      Lebanese American philosophical essayist, novelist, poet, and artist.

      Having received his primary education in Beirut, Gibran immigrated with his parents to Boston in 1895. He returned to Lebanon in 1898 and studied in Beirut, where he excelled in the Arabic language. On his return to Boston in 1903, he published his first literary essays; in 1907 he met Mary Haskell, who was to be his benefactor all his life and who made it possible for him to study art in Paris. In 1912 Gibran settled in New York City and devoted himself to writing literary essays and short stories, both in Arabic and in English, and to painting.

      Gibran's literary and artistic output is highly romantic in outlook and was influenced by the Bible, Friedrich Nietzsche, and William Blake. His writings in both languages, which deal with such themes as love, death, nature, and a longing for the homeland, are full of lyrical outpourings and are expressive of Gibran's deeply religious and mystic nature.

      Gibran's principal works in Arabic are: ʿArāʾ-is al-Murūj (1910; Nymphs of the Valley); Damʿah wa Ibtisāmah (1914; A Tear and a Smile); Al-Arwāḥ al-Mutamarridah (1920; Spirits Rebellious); Al-Ajniḥah al-Mutakassirah (1922; The Broken Wings); Al-Awasif (1923; “The Storms”); and Al-Mawākib (1923; The Procession), poems. His principal works in English are The Madman (1918), The Forerunner (1920), The Prophet (1923), Sand and Foam (1926), and Jesus, the Son of Man (1928).

Additional Reading

Khalil S. Hawi, Kahlil Gibran: His Background, Character, and Works, 2nd ed. (1982); Jean Gibran and Kahlil Gibran, Kahlil Gibran: His Life and World, rev. and updated ed. (1998); Robin Waterfield, Prophet: The Life and Times of Kahlil Gibran (1998); Suheil Bushrui and Joe Jenkins, Kahlil Gibran, Man and Poet (1998).

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