THE PROPHET

Love, marriage, children, work, joy, sorrow, friendship, freedom, pain, passion: those are just some of the topics Kahlil Gibran ponders in his modern classic, The Prophet. Written in English and first published in 1923, the book gradually became a global bestseller. Shaped around the story of a prophet leaving his country of exile, the text consists of a series of short discussions on what really matters most in life. Its simple but beautiful prose offers solace and guidance, and resonates in our hearts and minds.

Khalil Gibran was a Lebanese-American artist, poet, and writer of the New York Pen League. He was born in the town of Bsharri in the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate, Ottoman Empire (north of modern-day Lebanon) and emigrated 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.