Kahlil Gibran
Kahlil Gibran and I are BFF, what about you?
If you have ever read any work by Kahlil Gibran, do you find yourself completely distanced fromthe rest of the world?
Is there anyone who feels like humans have been taking the wrong paths for some time and there is really no way for it to ever be coreected?
Well, I must confess: I am an old man, and I don’t know what BFF means. But I’ve been reading Kahlil Gibran for 52 years, so if BFF means “best friends forever,” the only poet who has been my friend longer is Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
And, no, not distanced but inspired.
In my opinion, it’s too bad English teachers let T. S. Eliot and Ezra Pound define what is good poetry to the exclusion of Gibran. If American students had been reading Gibran and Rabindranath Tagore and Rumi and Hafiz as much as they’ve read “The Hollow Men” and “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” we might actually understand the rest of the world better these days.
Gibran’s poetic essays, especially those in The Prophet, set a new and high standard for the poet as a voice to the people, for a poet thinking and feeling like the Psalmist and other writers of scripture.
For example, well before I met my wife, I knew that Gibran was inspired in his words about marriage, beginning
“You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.
Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness . . . .”
Now after forty-four years of marriage, I know from experience what I heard in his voice.
Gibran taught me that poetry is not always verse, and that prophecy is not ever simply prediction. He also taught me how to teach:
“No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of our knowledge. . . .
If [a teacher] is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.”
He teaches me still.
Does that count as a BFF?
“And a youth said, ‘Speak to us of Friendship.’
[And the Prophet said to him]
Your friend is your needs answered.”
[And, by the way, Jesus, the Son of Man, mentioned by another Answerer is available at the site below. There are 98 copies available from dealers listed in abebooks.com, and about 18 of them are priced less than $10.]
Gibran Kahlil Gibran – a retrospective
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Prophet: Kahlil Gibran $9.98 … |
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Prophet By Kahil Gibran $12.98 All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed…. |
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Kahlil Gibran: The Prophet – A Musical Interpretation Composed By Arif Mardin & Performed By Richard Harris [Vinyl LP] [Stereo] $29.99 STEREO VINYL LP! Kahlil Gibran: The Prophet! A Musical Interpretation Composed By Arif Mardin And Performed By Richard Harris. 1974 Atlantic Release. TRACKS: A1. The Coming Of The Ship; A2. On Love; A3. On Marriage; A4. On Children; A5. Trilogy From The Prophet (Love, Marriage, Children); A6. On Giving; A7. On Eating And Drinking; A8. On Clothes; A9. On Work; B1. On Crime And Punishment; B2. On La… |
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Kahlil Gibran The Man & His Work $18.00 Kahlil Gibran (1883 – 1931) was a Lebanese born writer, poet, and painter. Kahlil Gibran The Man & His Work is the only comprehensive documentary and biography that captures and illustrates the complex life and works of Kahlil Gibran. The 32 minute documentary depicts the life of the man and illustrates his works in an artistic and musical manner…. |
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The Art and Words of Kahlil Gibran Boxed Blank Note Cards $14.95 First published in 1923, The Prophet by Lebanese American Kahlil Gibran has inspired generations of readers. Here are blank notecards illustrated with Gibran’s lush paintings in the collection of the Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia, each featuring a passage from The Prophet on the reverse. The handsomely boxed set contains 20 cards (five each of four designs, 4 3/4 x 6 3/4 inches) and 2… |
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Divorce Separation Support Kahlil Gibran Quote Card 5 x 7 inch premium quality folded paper greeting card. Encouragement cards for the whole family are available at Greeting Card Universe. We have everything from custom cards to professionally designed cards. Look no further than Greeting Card Universe for your Encouragement card needs. This paper card includes the following themes: encourage, encouragement, and support. Set your paper cards apart … |
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Lake at Sunset Card 5 x 7 inch premium quality folded paper greeting card. Find Encouragement cards for everyone on your list at Greeting Card Universe. Send a paper card to your friends and family this year. Look no further than Greeting Card Universe for your Encouragement card needs. This paper card includes the following themes: lake at sunset, park, and inspiration. Greeting Card Universe has the best Encouragem… |
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The Prophet $8.00 In a distant, timeless place, a mysterious prophet walks the sands. At the moment of his departure, he wishes to offer the people gifts but possesses nothing. The people gather round, each asks a question of the heart, and the man’s wisdom is his gift. It is Gibran’s gift to us, as well, for Gibran’s prophet is rivaled in his wisdom only by the founders of the world’s great religions. On the … |
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Kahlil Gibran … |
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The Prophet & The Wanderer Originally Published in 1923Khalil Gibran (Arabic pronunciation: [xa?li?l ?i?br??n]; born Gubran Khalil Gubran, January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931 also known as Kahlil Gibran, was a Lebanese-American artist, poet, and writer. Born in the town of Bsharri in modern-day Lebanon (then part of the Ottoman Mount Lebanon mutasarrifate), as a young man he emigrated with his family to the United States where… |
Tags: gibran, kahlil, kahlil gibran, kahlil gibran on love, kahlil gibran on marriage, kahlil gibran quotes, kahlil gibran the prophet, literature, philosophy, poetry
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