GIBRAN, KHALIL

born Jan. 6, 1883, Bsharri, Lebanon died April 10, 1931, New York, N.Y., U.S. Gibran also spelled Jibran, Khalil also spelled Kahlil, Arabic name in full Jubran Khalil Jubran Lebanese-American philosophical essayist, novelist, poet, and artist. Having received his primary education in Beirut, Gibran immigrated with his parents to Boston in 1895. He returned to Lebanon in 1898 and studied in Beirut, where he excelled in the Arabic language. On his return to Boston in 1903, he published his first literary essays and met Mary Haskell, who was to be his benefactor all his life. In 1912 Gibran settled in New York City and devoted himself to writing literary essays and short stories, both in Arabic and in English, and to painting. Gibran's literary and artistic output is highly romantic in outlook and was influenced by the Bible, Friedrich Nietzsche, and William Blake. His writings in both languages, which deal with such themes as love, death, nature, and a longing for the homeland, are full of lyrical outpourings and are expressive of Gibran's deeply religious and mystic nature. Gibran's principal works in Arabic are: 'Ara'-is al-Muruj (1910; Nymphs of the Valley); Dam'ah wa Ibtisamah (1914; A Tear and a Smile); Al-Arwah al-Mutamarridah (1920; Spirits Rebellious); Al-Ajnihah al-Mutakassirah (1922; The Broken Wings); Al-Awasif (1923; The Storms); and Al-Mawakib (1923; The Procession), poems. His principal works in English are The Madman (1918), The Forerunner (1920), The Prophet (1923), Sand and Foam (1926), and Jesus, the Son of Man (1928).