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Table of Contents
About The Book
Product Details
- Publisher: Interlink Books (November 20, 2016)
- Length: 464 pages
- ISBN13: 9781566560931
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Raves and Reviews
A splendid biography... --Boston Globe
Lebanese-American poet Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931), is unquestionably interesting, and this book features plenty of new research and many more photographs an important addition given that Gibran was also a visual artist. Gibran was a young boy when his father became involved in a political scandal in their home of Bsharri, Mount Lebanon. His mother took her children to Boston, where they lived in the Syrian section of town. Publisher and art photographer Fred Holland Day initially spotted Gibran's talent for art, and he helped him learn English, sparking his interest in literature. By the age of 15, Gibran was creating illustrations for Day's books and submitting to New York publishers. However, around the same time, he was sent back to Lebanon to study; his family feared he was too Americanized. The strong connections the authors have for their subject illustrate the deep ties of the Syrian people to their heritage. They are also excellent at explaining how the artist/writer lived a dual life: two languages, two careers, and both Arabic- and English-speaking colleagues. Gibran was lucky to find good mentors, including Day, fellow writer Josephine Peabody, and Mary Haskell, his patron. Haskell was his lifelong financial savior, but she also helped him translate his work into English while maintaining the feel of his thoughts. Gibran was always involved in groups of writers, Syrians, and politicians and his strong feelings for his homeland were a vital part of his soul. Auguste Rodin called him the William Blake of the 20th century, and his influence is still felt today, most notably with the continued sales of The Prophet, which was published in 1923 and has never been out of print. An enjoyable, generously illustrated book that will stimulate readers to reconsider Gibran, his work, and his heritage.
Kirkus Reviews
Jean Gibran (Love Made Visible) and artist Kahlil G. Gibran, godson of Kahlil Gibran, work as a husband-and-wife team, in collaboration with the Interlink Gibran Project, to continue their biographical exploration of the late poet. The book is chronologically organized from Gibran s birth in Ottoman Syria to his early death at the age of 48 in 1931. It reveals many of the persons who shared time with the author/artist during his short life writing, designing book covers, and producing multiple forms of visual art. For instance, the photographer and publisher Fred Holland Day, whose involvement in Gibran s early years assisted him onto the path that would be his life. But Gibran, during his whole life, also felt split between his adopted home of Boston, MA, and his birthplace in the Middle East. The authors make a point to draw attention to his cross-national identity, the details that connected him to his birthplace as well as to the Arabic language... that zoom lens on Gibran s life positively reflects the authors use of many special archives to produce this narrative. VERDICT Recommended for readers who have a soft spot for... upbeat literary narratives of writers. --Library Journal
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- Book Cover Image (jpg): Kahlil Gibran Trade Paperback 9781566560931