Khalil Gibran

Khalil Gibran was born in 1883 in the town of Bsharri, in what is now Lebanon, then part of the Ottoman Empire. He emigrated with his family to the United States in 1895, settling in Boston. Gibran studied art in Paris and later moved to New York, where he wrote in both Arabic and English. His early works, such as "The Madman" (1918) and "The Forerunner" (1920), established his distinctive style of lyrical prose and spiritual allegory. Gibran's masterpiece, "The Prophet" (1923), is a series of philosophical reflections on love, marriage, work, and death, delivered by a fictional sage. The book has been translated into over 100 languages and remains widely read. Gibran's literary legacy lies in his fusion of Eastern mysticism and Western Romanticism, making him a central figure in modern Arabic literature and a beloved voice in American letters. He died in New York in 1931.