Gibran Khalil Gibran was born on December 6, 1883 in Bshareh, Lebanon from the third marriage of his mother Kameleh Rahmeh. The child lived happily learning Arabic and Syriac in the local village school. At the age of eight, after the arrest of his father, he moved to a small house (presently known as the Gibran Museum), where he lived with his mother and sisters. 

At the age of twelve, when their economical situation urged them to emigrate to the United States, Gibran went with his mother to Boston, but eventually returned to Lebanon three years later to study Arabic. After his mother’s death from tuberculosis in 1901, he began painting and writing while being financially supported by his sister.

In 1904, he met Mary Haskel who influenced and helped him throughout his life including his writings and paintings. She also helped him travel to Paris where he resided for two years. Finally, he settled in New York where he died on April 10, 1931.

Gibran wrote many books and executed paintings and some sculptures. He received international recognition after writing “The Prophet”, which was published in 1923 with illustrations by the author. “The Prophet” was an immediate best seller especially popular with young adults. Since 1923, it has been translated into more than 20 languages. “The Prophet” - a series of 28 related prose poems, touches on topics such as love, freedom, prayer and death with an introduction, 26 essays and a farewell.

In the introduction, Al Mustafa, the prophet, who is about to leave the city of Orphalese, is asked by the seeress Almitra to speak to the people about life. He begins with a discourse on love and turns to everyday concerns and more philosophical matters such as Good and Evil, Religion and Death. He finally bids farewell and departs.

“The Prophet” is a mystical and intensely subjective work presenting the human soul as essentially noble and good. Gibran’s mysticism, which is evident in “The Prophet” as in all his works, reveals his intense preoccupation with the spiritual and the visionary.