kahlil gibran - biography

7/28/2019 Kahlil Gibran - Biography

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BIOGRAPHY: KAHLIL GIBRAN 1883 - 1931====================================

COURTESY OF KAHLIL GIBRAN ONLINE - www.kahlil.org=================================================

Born Gibran Khalil Gibran in Bsharri (Bet Sharre, the place of kings), Lebanon on 6th January 1883, Gibran was one of the four children of Khalil Gibran (father) and Kamila Rahmeh (mother). His half-brother, Peter (or Butrus) was 6 years his senior and he had two younger sisters - Mariana and Sultana.

The family were impoverished largely as a result of his fathers gambling, and Gibran received no formal education. His mother's deeply religious convictions were instilled in him from an early age and the education he received was providedby a local priest.

Recognising Gibran's inquisitive and active mind the priest took to teaching himthe Syriac and Arabic languages together with fundamantal religious and biblical teachings. Through this informal teaching Gibran developed an interest in science, languages and history.

In 1891 the family were left homeless after the authorities seized their property, the consequence of his father being convicted for tax evasion. Whilst his fa

ther was in prison the family stayed with relatives before emigrating to Americain 1895. Although his father had been released from prison the previous year he chose to remain in Lebanon.

Being Arabic the family were treated as second class citizens. His mother madea living as best she could by peddling goods on the impoverished streets of Boston. His sisters were denied an education due to Middle Eastern traditions and financial hardship. It was thanks to charitable institutions that Gibran was able to attend Denison House School and it was here, that an error on a registration form, changed his name forever to Kahlil Gibran.

Kamila was a strong-minded and determined woman and through hard work she managed to save some money and improve conditions for the family. The money enabled P

eter to open up a goods store in which Mariana and Sultana also worked.

Although a quiet and introverted child who spent much of his time alone, Gibrandeveloped an interest in the artistic and cultural side of Boston and he attended operas, theatre and art galleries. His teachers recognised and encouraged hisartistic ability and introduced the 13 year old Gibran to Fred Holland Day, anartist and supporter of the arts. Day opened up a world of writing, photography, literature and mythology to the young boy and greatly improved his low self-esteem. Gibran learned fast and his artistic talents developed under the tutelageof Day, so much so that in 1898 his images were used as cover designs for booksand he began to make a name for himself.

Concerned that at such an early age, too much success could cause problems later

in life, it was agreed that Gibran would return to Lebanon to finish his education at Al-Hikmah school in Beirut and learn Arabic and pursue a reformist Arabiccurriculum. In 1902 when he left college he was a self-confident, determined young man who had excelled in poetry and his other studies.

News from the United States was not good, his mother had developed cancer, Peterwas struck with consumption and Sultana had tuberculosis. Gibran set out for America but arrived too late, on 4th April 1902 Sultana had died at the age of 14. Peter had abandoned the family store and left for Cuba, it fell to Gibran tolook after the store and provide for the family, something he would have preferr


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ed not to do as it impeded on his artistic pursuits.

In February 1903 Peter returned from Cuba, he was to die of consumption a few days later. In June that same year, his mother was also to die from the cancer that had spread throughout her body. In the wake of the three deaths Gibran soldthe store and threw himself into the task of improving his Arabic and English, apursuit he would continue all his life. Meanwhile, Fred Holland Day and Josephine Peabody, a young artist who had caught Gibran's attention, were helping prepare his acclaimed debut art exhibition. During the course of the exhibition Gibran met Mary Haskell, who at 30 years of age was 10 years his senior, this relationship would last his lifetime and Mary was to be instrumental in shaping the development of the budding artist. It was on her recommendation that he changed to writing in English, having previously written in Arabic and subsequently translating the work.

1904 was the year of Gibran's first published work, an article entitled 'Vision'in the Arabic newspaper Al-Mouhajer. He continued writing for the paper and the following year wrote a column called Tears and laughter, this would later formthe basis of his book - A Tear and a Smile. That same year he published his first book (in Arabic) entitled Nubthah fi Fan Al-Musiqa (Music) which was inspired by his visits with Day to the opera and Peters music playing.

A second book followed in 1906 - Arayis Al-Muruj (The Nymphs of the Valley), this was a collection of three allegories, namely Martha, Yuhanna the Mad and Dust

of Ages and The Eternal Fire. These were heavily influenced by the stories he had heard in Bsharri and revolved around religious persecution, prostitution andreincarnation.

Two years later and a third book, again in Arabic, was published. This focusedon the social issues in Lebanon and causes close to Gibran's heart. The book, Al-Arwah Al-Mutamarridah (Spirits Rebellious), was derived from the column in Al-Mouhajer and consisted of four narratives which dwelt on subjects including theemancipation of women, criticism of the clergy and the injustices of the Lebanese feudal system. It was not well received by the clergy who threatened to excommunicate him, nor by the Syrian Government who censored the book.

Gibran studied art in Paris for a short time in 1908, unwilling to accept the ac

ademies strict formal education, he left to tour London and thereafter rely on his own artistic style and temperament. He learned in June 1909 of the death ofhis father in Lebanon. After traveling abroad Gibran returned to America in late 1910, shortly after his return he proposed to Mary but she turned him down onthe grounds of the age difference. Fortunately this did not end the relationship between the two and it developed into a long term and important artistic collaboration.

In the spring of 1911 Gibran was to move to New York where he worked on his nextbook. The Broken Wings was his longest Arabic novel and, as with so much of his writing, dealt with the more gloomy aspects of life; in this case, the ill-fated affair of a married woman with a younger man and her ultimate death during childbirth.

By now Gibran was making a name for himself in New York and was being well received, not entirely due to his creativity but thanks also in part to Mary's network of contacts and her continued financial support. In complete contrast to hisboyhood he was now a confident young man with an alluring personality and this helped cement his success. Mary's role was to become more influential as both mentor and editor and through Mary he honed his English and cultural skills.

By 1913 Gibran had started writing his first book in English - The Madman. He had long been fascinated by the treatment of people deemed to be mad in his home


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country of Lebanon. Madness was seen as the result of demonic possession and itwas left to the church to treat people, it was this treatment that provided thefoundation for the book.

Two further books were to follow in quick succession. First was Jesus The Son of Man, his longest work in English and inspired by Gibran's admiration of Jesus.Next came Kitab Dam'ah wa Ibtisamah (A Tear and A Smile) which was his fifth b

ook in Arabic and was an anthology of his earlier writings in Al-Mouhajer newspaper. At the same time he and Mary had been editing and revising the series of parables that formed The Madman.

During the years of the First World War, Gibran involved himself more closely with politics, he hoped for the liberation of Syria from Ottoman rule, he called on both Muslim and Christian forces to unite their military forces and focus their efforts against the oppressive Ottoman rule and often fantasised about his role as a political hero and fighter leading his country to liberation. In realitythere was little he could do and this depressed him, a situation compounded bya childhood injury to his shoulder which now troubled him further. Famine ravaged The Levant and Gibran set about raising funds in the States to assist the starving.

To keep his mind occupied on thoughts other than the war, he sought to further his acceptance in New York and in 1916 joined the literary board of The Seven Arts Magazine, something he was to take great pride in as he was the first immigran

t to join the board. His acceptance within literary circles grew and he found himself in demand from people wanting to hear recitations from his writings.

In 1918 The Madman reached publication, his first English work to do so. It wasvery well received and critics often compared him to Tagore, the respected Indian writer. On the strength of it's success his popularity soared and he began to lose contact with old acquaintances, preferring instead the company of new found friends.

Later that same year he wrote another Arabic poem called 'Al-Mawakib' (The Procession), this was his first serious attempt at writing in traditional Arabic. The poem was published but received little acclaim.

Throughout his life Gibran sought to further the advance of Arabic literature and to this end he joined many societies and magazines. In 1911 he founded Arrabitah Al-Qalamyiah, an Arab organisation dedicated to promoting Arabic writings and literature worldwide, the organisation focused on the desire for greater artistic freedom and called on writers to develop their own individual styles insteadof following the constraints of the accepted norm. These platforms served not only their intended purposes but also as a means for Gibran to further his own advancement and as an introduction to people who would help guide his development.

All the while his political standpoint angered Syria's politicians, moreso overGibran's openly expressed disapproval at the way the Syrian region was being divided into Palestine, Syria and Lebanon. He urged politicians to adopt aspects of the Western culture and was forthright in his opinions about cultural makeup o

f countries and the way in which their citizens should be able to lead their lives.

He continued his Arabic writings and by 1922 began to complain of heart trouble,something which was later attributed to his nervous psychological state. Gibran told Mary "My greatest pain is not physical. There's something big in me.... I've always known it and I can't get it out. It's a silent greater self, sittingwatching a smaller somebody in me doing all sorts of things."

1923 saw the publication of Gibran's greatest work - The Prophet. The seeds of


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TheProphet had been planted many years earlier by Josephine Peabody who oftenreferred to Gibran as 'her young prophet' and had herself written an eleven stanzapoem about Gibran's childhood in Bsharri. By 1918 Gibran was formulating an Arabic work which was to have been titled My Island Man and was based on a Promethean man's exile to an island, the banished man being called Al Mustafa. Initially the book was to have included a separate work related to the story of Al Mustafa (the Chosen One) and this work was to have been called The Commonwealth. The origins of The Prophet can also be traced back to an Arabic work written whenGibran was 16 in which a man discussed various subjects amongst a group of people in an inn. Further influences can be attributed to the conversations Gibran had with Mary, the subjects of which included love, life, death, marriage and others that can be found in the pages of The Prophet.

Mary's role in developing The Prophet was crucial. Following the success of TheMadman, a book written in English, she encouraged Gibran to change from Arabicto English when writing The Prophet. Mary had always preferred the title of 'TheCounsels' but on this occasion Gibran would not be swayed, consequently the book was published as The Prophet, and although it met with limited success it was,in time, to become one of the most famous and inspirational religious works ofthe twentieth century.

By now Gibran had mastered the command of the English language and he was less a

nd less reliant on Mary's opinions and editorial skills. Further, his success brough with it financial independence and he was able to repay his debts to Maryby sending her several of his paintings. She remained an important part of hislife and an inspiration for many of the illustrations he used in his books.

Gibran developed an acquaintance with May Ziadeh, an Arab writer who had first been drawn to Gibran's work through his book The Broken Wings. May was an intellect and a strong supporter of women's emancipation and although The Broken Wingswas too liberal for her mind, the subject of women's rights was common ground to both her and Gibran. This was an avenue both actively pursued and in time, May was to replace Mary as advisor and editor to Gibran's writings.

During the 1920's Gibran changed his attitudes to his own writings. His Arabic

works were largely political or focused on cultural and social issues and the need for the emerging Arab countries to adopt Western cultures. These caused controversy in the Arab world and although relishing the controversy, it did mean limited success in Arab countries. Consequently he concentrated on writing in English and creating his own style of writing and language.

Mary married in 1926 and moved to Savannah, Georgia - the home of her new husband, a southern landowner called Florance Minis, her involvement with Gibran dwindled but not before he confided in her about his intention to write and publish two continuations of The Prophet.

The first was to be The Garden Of The Prophet and would recount the stories Al Mustafa had told his followers in his island garden and the second was to have be

en The Death Of The Prophet in which Al Mustafa left the island only to be imprisoned and stoned to death in the market place. Sadly, Gibran never published these works, due largely to deteriorating health and his pre-occupation in writingJesus The Son Of Man. Gibran's advancement continued and by 1926 he was recognised and accepted on an international scale - much to his liking. To further this he began contributing regular articles to the journal The New Orient, an international publication seeking to encourage the meeting of East and West. At thesame time he began work on a new book called Lazarus And His Beloved, a seriesof four dramatic poems telling the story of the Biblical character Lazarus.


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By the end of 1926 Gibran was submitting draft copies of Jesus,The Son Of Man toMary for editing and comment. In November 1928 the book was finally publishedand was well received by the critics who delighted in Gibran's portrayal of Jesus. Due in part to the success and acclaim of this work Gibran received many honours but all was not well.

A few months prior, his health had began to deteriorate and his body was wrackedwith nervous pains. Gibran turned to alcohol as a means of escape and soon became an alcoholic. Doctors diagnosed an enlarged cancerous liver but ignoring medical advice and the issues of illness he relied instead on heavy drinking and immersing himself in his work, most notably a book which was to be published in 1930 called The Earth Gods. Originally written in 1911 it recounted the story ofthree earth gods who witnessed the drama of a young couple falling in love.

Gibran was trapped in a vicious circle, he drank to alleviate the pain in his liver but in doing so only exacerbated the problem. His condition deteriorated rapidly and all hopes of him finishing the sequel to The Prophet - The Garden Of The Prophet were gone. He confided to May Ziadeh that he was "A small volcano whose opening had been closed".

Gibran died in a New York hospital on 10th April 1931 aged 48, the result of hiscancer spreading. The people of New York held a two day vigil and he was mourned in America and Lebanon.

In his will he left substantial sums of money to the people of Lebanon in orderthat they remain in the country and develop it rather than emigrate.

In July 1931 Mary and his sole surviving sister, Marianna, travelled to Lebanonand buried Gibran in his hometown of Bsharri. Fulfilling a wish he had expressed some years earlier, Mary and Marianna negotiated the purchase of the Mar Sarkis Monastery and in 1932 Gibran was moved to his final resting place. It had also been his wish to establish a library in Bsharri and on the suggestion of Mary,his belongings, books and some of his works and drawings were used to create alibrary and museum in the monastery.

CREDITSThe above biography has been condensed and rewritted from a more detailed versio

n by Dania Saadi and available at http://leb.net/gibran/Biography.

kahlil gibran - biography

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