Join Books.org — it's free

Book cover of Prophet
Biography & Autobiography

Prophet

by Robin Waterfield
Available on Bookshop Write a review

Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.

Log in to track your reading progress.

Overview

Born in the mountains of northern Lebanon, Kahlil Girbran (1883-1931) - mystic, society philosopher, author of one of the most enduring works of the 20th century, The Prophet - immigrated to the United States in 1895.

Synopsis

Born in the mountains of northern Lebanon, Kahlil Girbran (1883-1931) - mystic, society philosopher, author of one of the most enduring works of the 20th century, The Prophet - immigrated to the United States in 1895. A gifted artist, who specialized in painting for some years before he turned to writing, Gibran - although initially spurned by those whose approval he sought - was in time beloved by a number of prominent avant-gardists and hobnobbed with the rich and famous of Henry James's turn-of-the-century Boston. He then set his sights on the bohemian world of Greenwich Village in its early heyday before World War I. Gibran is known for the peace and optimism that permeates his work. Paradoxically, however, his life was littered with personal tragedies, conflicted sexuality, and deep heartache. Robin Waterfield skillfully traces Gibran's development from wounded Romantic and angry young man to his final metamorphosis as the Prophet of New York and shows what influences - psychological, social, and literary - led to these various phases. In fact, the road to the extraordinary success of The Prophet was not smooth or peaceful and tragically, Gibran himself did not live to see the phenomenal sales the book subsequently achieved. A complete reappraisal of all the remaining primary sources on Gibran's life and character, PROPHET is a brilliant work that reveals this Svengali-like guru of the New Age as a deeply unhappy, even tortured man.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet. Log in to write one.

Book Details

Published
September 8, 2015
Publisher
Macmillan + ORM
Pages
432
ISBN
9781250097682

More by Robin Waterfield

Similar books