The Prophet

The Prophet
ISBN: 9781853264856
Publication Date: 5 August 1997

The Prophet represents the acme of Kahlil Gibran"s achievement. Writing in English, Gibran adopted the tone and cadence of King James I"s Bible, fusing his personalised Christian philosophy with a spirit and oriental wisdom that derives from the richly mixed influences of his native Lebanon. His language has a breath-taking beauty.

Before returning to his birthplace, Almustafa, the "prophet", is asked for guidance by the people of Orphalese. His words, redolent with love and understanding, call for universal unity, and affirm Gibran"s certainty of the correlated nature of all existence, and of reincarnation. The Prophet has never lost its immediate appeal and has become a ubiquitous touchstone of spiritual literature.

About the Author

Born in the town of Bsharri in the north of modern-day Lebanon (then part of Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate, Ottoman Empire), as a young man he immigrated with his family to the United States, where he studied art and began his literary career, writing in both English and Arabic. 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 Laozi.