Gibran Khalil Gibran - A Poet’s Life & Legacy

By Adhid Miri, PhD

The history of literature reveals many writers, poets and thinkers who help initiate, develop, enrich and introduce major changes or literary catalysts in the genre within which they are working. They do not simply initiate a new trend, but rather establish a radically new way of writing, often against heavy odds and beyond all expectations. They change the direction of the literature of their times and of all times. 

Gibran Khalil Gibran (January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931) also known as Kahlil Gibran, a Lebanese American writer lauded for his work as a novelist, philosopher, poet and artist, was such a phenomenon.

Gibran is chiefly known in the English-speaking world for his book The Prophet. It is composed of 26 poetic essays, delivered as sermons by a wise man called Al Mustapha. Its popularity has been attributed to its simple style, metrical beauty, and words of wisdom. It focuses on human relationships—with others, with nature, and with God.

Since it was published in 1923, The Prophet has never been out of print. Although practically ignored by the literary establishment in the West, Gibran’s works were influential in the 1960s American popular culture, with The Prophet gaining cult status. Lines from the book have inspired song lyrics, political speeches and have been read aloud at weddings and funerals all around the world. The perennial classic has been translated into more than 50 languages and is a staple on international best-seller lists, making Gibran the third bestselling poet of all time, behind Shakespeare and Lao-Tzu. 

The Beatles, John F. Kennedy and Indira Gandhi are among those who have been influenced by its words. One of America’s most famous speeches, “Ask not what your country can do for you…” was inspired by Gibran’s work.

Gibran was born in the town of Bsharri in modern-day Lebanon, where he is still celebrated as a literary hero. His style broke away from the classical school, pioneering a new Romantic movement in Arabic literature of poetic prose. This renaissance in modern Arabic literature had at its foundation Gibran’s writings.

Many Americans have a misconception that Gibran is Muslim because of his Arabic name, which is a Christian-Arabic name. Much of Gibran’s writings deal with Christianity, most condemning the corrupt practices of the Eastern churches and their clergies during that era.

Jesus Christ was an important influence in Gibran’s life, and he would often distinguish between the teachings of Christ and the actions of the modern-day clerical establishment. In essays such as The Bride’s Bed and The Broken Wings, among many others, he attacked what he saw as the materialism, selfishness and worldliness of some clergymen and their alliance with feudal lords in order to oppress the impoverished working people, especially the women, of his homeland; denying them their freedom and condemning them to a life of subservience.

Because of this fervent opposition to the antiquated status quo, Gibran much admired those brave souls and mighty minds who challenged societal restrictions and limitations. In this regard, he was also fascinated with the concept of struggle against the evils of political clericism, sectarianism and feudalism. He worked for social and economic justice, women’s rights, and for an enlightened spiritualism which transcended sectarian prejudices. Yet Gibran was also a nationalist who worked tirelessly for the liberation of his homeland from the Ottoman occupation.

In addition to his stiff opposition to the political intrigues of the clergy, he also took a strong stand against sectarianism, seeing it as the most dangerous threat to his nation’s freedom and independence. He was strongly opposed to the philosophy, both because he believed in the unity of God and all faiths, and because he knew that his country would never be free and prosperous so long as it was divided against itself on the basis of sectarian affiliation. He knew that sectarian mistrust and strife was used by the Ottomans and other world powers in order to keep their hold on the Levant. 

Gibran was proud of his national heritage and stressed the importance of national independence of thought and spirit. He was adamant in his nationalist passions and wary of the path of compromise and patience when it came to defend the national cause. He vehemently criticized the way imperial powers were flaming sectarian tensions by “sponsoring” or influencing different sects and setting one against the other, “whereby the Druze adhered to England, the Orthodox to Russia, and the Maronites to France.” 

In order to overcome these sectarian rifts, Gibran would attempt to connect the religions of Christianity and Islam, stating that he: “harbored Jesus in one half of his heart and Muhammad in the other.”

Besides the powerful influence of Christ’s teaching, Gibran was also heavily influenced by the Syriac Language. He studied both the Syriac and Arabic languages in Lebanon and his early knowledge and connection to Syriac would always remain with him. He once said that “the Bible is Syriac literature” and that “Chaldo-Syriac is the most beautiful language that man has made.” In a 1922 letter to Mary Haskell he wrote: “Although my culture and education happen to be Arabic…I am Chaldean.” 

We see that Gibran was a man with very strongly held beliefs and that he was adamant in his defense of these beliefs. His was a life of revolt against both East and West.

In the Arab world, Gibran is regarded as a rebel, both in a literary and political sense. He was a Christian but he saw things being done in the name of Christianity which he could not accept. In his writing, he raged against the oppression of women and the tyranny of the Church and called for freedom from Ottoman rule. Political leaders considered his thoughts poisonous to young people and one of his books, Spirits Rebellious, was burnt in the marketplace in Beirut soon after it was published.

Gibran often found himself at odds with society and societal strictures binding the minds and souls of men to the whims of narrow-minded rulers and outdated traditions. He often felt like an outsider in his society and was viewed as such by its more conservative elements. This feeling of alienation and opposition was reflected in the titles of several of his works, including Spirits Rebellious, The Tempest, The Madman, I am Not Moderate, The Lonely Poet, Solitude and Isolation, and Beyond My Solitude.

Gibran died in New York City on April 10, 1931. He was admitted to St. Vincent’s Hospital, Manhattan where he died the same day, aged 48, after having refused the last rites before the spreading cancer in his liver left him unconscious. The New York streets staged a two-day vigil in his honor as his death was mourned in the U.S. as well as in Lebanon. The cause of death was reported to be cirrhosis of the liver with incipient tuberculosis in one of his lungs. 

Before his death, Gibran expressed the wish that he be buried in Bsharri-Lebanon among the trees and nature. His body lay temporarily at Mount Benedict Cemetery in Boston, before it was taken on July 23 to Providence, Rhode Island, and from there to Lebanon on the liner Sinaia.

He was laid to rest in the ancient Mar Sarkis monastery in Bsharri. It was a very fitting location, for it was the place where he first started to draw as a child; the place where he secretly met with his first and truest love as a young man; and the place he was making plans to purchase in his last years, in preparation for his long anticipated return to Lebanon. An inscription near his casket reads: “A word I want to be written on my tomb: I am alive like you and I am standing now at your side, so close your eyes and look around, and you will see me in front of you.”

Contemporary Arabic literature is ever renewed and enriched by a dazzling array of splendid new talents in all areas of literature, but much of its present achievement is indebted to the pioneering work of Gibran Khalil Gibran.