Introduction: These Testimonials

introduction

These Testimonials

Is He Following Me or Am I Following Him?

A deep sense of euphoria set in the moment the stewardess announced our arrival at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York on an April morning in 1985. I was not only excited to begin a new life as the Editor-in-Chief of Al-Hoda (The Guidance) newspaper, but also thrilled to explore the places once frequented by one of Lebanon’s most world-renowned poets, Kahlil Gibran.

I soon realized the Al-Hoda office, located on 34 West 28th Street, was near 28 West 9th Street, Gibran’s first home upon arrival in New York in 1911. It was there his dear friend, Ameen Rihani, hosted him prior to a subsequent move to a studio a few metres away at 51 West 10th Street. This flat remained his home for twenty consecutive years: 1911 until his death in 1931.

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Gibran’s New York City became my New York City. Fifty-four years separated my visit from this great man, however, I felt a close bond and kinship with him as if he were my neighbour in New York City. He became my connection to, and a kind of lens through which to, experience the wonder of New York City. I grew eager to taste the things he tasted and live as he lived during his time there.

I began to believe Gibran and I were bound by a form of spiritual propinquity whenever I looked up at the West 10th sign on the street corner or whenever I walked in Lower Manhattan, specifically in the Village, streets frequented by Gibran during his twenty-year stay in New York City.

My propinquity with Gibran was not only reinforced roaming the streets of New York, but also through interviews and discussions with the people he knew. The larger-than-life figure of Gibran loomed large during my time in the United States. The shadow of Gibran oriented my path and spurred my curiosity to discover as much as possible about the New York City he lived and experienced.

From the moment I arrived in New York City in 1985 until the time of my departure in 1986, I felt the shadow of Gibran on the streets I walked, the places I visited, and in all of the people I met. The footsteps of Gibran loomed large and accompanied me over the course of my stay. I imagined Gibran decades earlier walking the streets, contemplating the remarkable words that would propel him to worldwide fame and immortality.

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One of the gnawing questions I frequently pondered was: what if he lived in Lebanon? Would he be as famous as he is now, and would he have reached this international reputation and fame?

Gibran’s shadow not only loomed large during my time in New York City, but also accompanied me throughout much of my life in Lebanon. His potent words swirled in my head during my youth, formative years, and continue to inspire me to this day. Gibran’s shadow lived with me since I can remember and I often reflect on whether I am following him or if he is following me.

This shadow of Gibran is not abstract, but has most explicitly materialized in my home library, where I have dedicated a special section –the largest and richest of all– to his brilliant works. This extensive collection includes numerous books about him and his life, pictures of Gibran and the places he lived, as well as a wide range of magazines and other manuscripts I refer to when writing or when in need of inspiration from his words.

I have always found the commemoration of his birth and death to be a time of inspiration. The 50th anniversary of his death and the centenary of his birth stand out most prominently. On such occasions and even on an annual basis, I take a moment to reflect in the form of pieces or interviews with newspapers, magazines, radio or television on the life and work of this poet with unparalleled genius.

One moment when I felt particularly connected to Gibran was when my dear friend, Farid Selman,

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approached me to translate Gibran’s most prominent work, The Prophet, into Lebanese language. I immediately dropped all activities in which I was engaged in order to dedicate exclusive energy to the translation until it was finished and ready to be published as a special edition by Gibran’s National Committee.

Returning to my arrival in New York City in 1985. One of the most important items in my bag on that day was the book, Kahlil Gibran: His Life and World, by Kahlil George Gibran and his wife, Jean Gibran. This book proved an invaluable key to unlocking many of the mysteries revolving around this towering literary figure.

The younger Gibran, a renowned sculptor, was a frequent companion of mine when in Boston. I read and re-read this book for two reasons: firstly, to know more about Gibran’s life, and secondly to improve my English proficiency. I neglected the latter for some time when in Lebanon, but the younger Gibran’s work not only fostered greater familiarity with this iconic poet and his time in New York City and Boston, but also enabled a better communication in my new home.

Is He Following Me or Am I Following Him?

Kahlil George Gibran’s book introduced me to many of the places the poet lived during his life in the United States. I dedicated a significant amount of time during my one year in the United States to visit the places the Lebanese poet lived. I wandered

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the Boston neighbourhoods once frequented by Kahlil Gibran during his stays in America between 1895–1910. I visited Mary Haskell’s School on Marlborough Street, and the Church of Our Lady of the Cedars, where his body was shrouded, as well as the square named after him with a memorial. I also spent time with the sculptor Kahlil George Gibran and his wife, Jean, at their house. I saw Gibran’s Nay (flute), some of his clothes, plus hundreds of documents Kahlil and his wife collected and used as reference for their famous biography on the life of Gibran.

In New York, I visited the street of Gibran’s former studio, the hospital where he died, and the places he frequented in Lower Manhattan. I travelled to Savannah, Georgia to visit the house of Mary Haskell and the nearby Telfair Museums, which benefitted from Mary Haskell’s donations of Gibran’s paintings. I also visited the rich archives to browse original correspondence between Gibran and Mary as well as her journal at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

My sojourns into Gibran’s past spurred further curiosity into his life in the United States. I subsequently returned to the United States on several occasions to learn more about Kahlil Gibran’s life in the United States. I had the honour of contributing to the first international conference on his life and work at the University of Maryland in 1999. I also had the honour to be chosen by the conference Chair, Professor Suheil Bushrui, on behalf of the University, as a founding associate for the “Kahlil

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Gibran International Research and Studies Project” for Lebanon and the Middle East region. More than anything, this honour serves as a testament to my interest in and strengthened my relationship to the life and work of Gibran.

I also had the honour of participating in the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Gibran’s death in 1981 and the centenary of his birth in 1983. Perhaps the most prominent engagement with the author was the 125th anniversary of Gibran’s birth organized by the Centre for Lebanese Heritage at the Lebanese American University. This event served as a platform for four new seminars that shed light on different aspects of Gibran’s literature and biography.

Is He Following Me or Am I Following Him?

Gibran’s American journey (1895–1931) shaped his life and literature in profound ways. Like Gibran, my American experience investigating the life of this elusive poet had a similar impact on me. The more I learned of Gibran’s psychological, mental and emotional situation in the US, the more curious and inspired I became to learn more. This experience rendered a deeper appreciation for his complexity.

I also came to understand Gibran’s nostalgia for Lebanon, the bitter taste of estrangement from Bisharri and the Qadisha Valley, as well as his dream –as he once told his Al-Mahjar colleague, Mikhail

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Naimy– to return to the Qadisha Valley to buy the Mar Sarkees Monastery so as to be laid to rest there.

He had a strong nostalgia for Lebanon, whose plains, mountains, and valleys appear in numerous backgrounds in his paintings created in his New York studio. Yet the last seven years of his life in New York City propelled him to an international fame and stature he simply could not have reached if he remained in his motherland. At the same time, he never relinquished his Lebanese identity, even at the height of his American fame, and this identity ushered in a seminal moment for all artists. Specifically, Gibran represented a new era when a creator could be both a citizen of the world and proud of his Lebanese roots at the same time.

From his small studio, Gibran showed his diverse artistic talents to the outside world. There was only 25 years from his first Arabic published book, Nabza Fil Mousiqa (A Brief about Music), in 1905 until his last book written in English, The Earth Gods, in 1931. Gibran’s words enriched an epoch and continue to inspire individuals all around the world to this day.

I like to think of Kahlil Gibran as the sea: wherever we walk on a beach, we are bound, in one way or another, to step on the sand of his beach. He was at the forefront of linguistic innovation of Arabic and English languages and is the definition of a visionary who charted his own path both through his art and as a man.

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Posthumous Testimonials of People and Places

This book is not a study of Gibran’s literature. The literature about him is vast and has been translated into most world languages. It is similarly not a biography, as his life story is well known and documented in a variety of research and scholarship on his life. This book is about my quarter-century long journey toward Gibran. I unravel strands of his personality through interviews and discussions about his life through the people he knew during his life. I blend these discussions with my own experience wandering the neighbourhoods Gibran frequented and places connected in some way to his life in Boston and New York.

As much as it was a pleasure for me to hear new things about him from his contemporaries, it saddened me to lose other memories from people who knew him and died without sharing their experiences with this special and peculiar personality. Sadly, many such memories were lost.

This book is my own intimate journey to engage with this Gibran’s work and life beyond mere text or an easel. While I do draw upon his literature as a scholar, critic, researcher, and analyst, I also enter aspects of the world, which contributed to the production –in part or in whole– of his famous works, whether published or not. These materials include the sketches, drafts, and letters which remained unknown manuscripts until the Gibran National Committee published a large number of them in a

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book entitled, Oqloub al Safha Ya Fata (Turn the Page Young Man).

This book is an attempt to grapple with the question of whether I am following Kahlil Gibran or whether he is following me. I may be answering the question of whether it is me following him, wherever I go in person or in my writings, or it is him following me whenever he is the subject of some discussion, occasion, and national or international conference.

This book, then, represents the synthesis of a vast collection of twenty-five years of writings on the work and life of Kahlil Gibran. This includes my writings published in consecutive articles in newspapers and magazines, whether in Lebanon or in the United States. These writings demonstrate my perpetual exploration and never-ending search to learn more about Gibran and his art.

The pages of this book are a unique testimony to the places and times, testimonials of Gibran’s friends, acquaintances or people interested in him, who were inspired by him or were deeply involved in his literature. These testimonials of people and places demonstrate the significant impact this man had on individuals whether through personal encounters or through his work.

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PEOPLE