Horizon newsletter: The Kahlil Gibran Experience

This would be the foreword that you would, inshallah, see (or have already seen) in the new edition of the internal Horizon newsletter for the Sultan Qaboos University.

I ask that you would leave your opinion about it in a constructive manner.

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The Kahlil Gibran Experience

A few sentences read from a book that collects together all the astounding and rather mesmerizing in the sense that it takes you on a journey that truly and without a doubt a whole new world. Escape would be the keyword here. As Kahlil enchants us to his honey well of poetry that describes almost everything in his own perspective from life, to love, to pain and heartache and the world he drowns himself into - the world of fantasy that he succumbs to himself and in turn encapsulates the reader into.

By this time and century, almost everyone on this planet has a pretty much good idea about who Kahlil Gibran is (although in the proper English Language, that is clearly not the way you would pronounce his name, but that is beyond the point here) and what was his role in this world as an artist and a person that has the qualities of a leader in his field; poetry and literary.

As it is known, Kahlil Gibran was Lebanese poet that migrated to the United States of America. It is not apparent as to why he chose to migrate, but, perhaps chose it for its chosen title amongst the hype of being known 'the land of opportunity'. And although he had migrated to the land where some of the people who do learn to forget what background they are from and how they got to be where they are – Kahlil clearly does not. For he shows this all throughout his workings such as 'The Prophet'; 'The Three Earth Gods' and 'The Madman' to name but a few.

To read the works of one of the greatest Arab artists that the world has ever known in time, one comes to realize the true meaning of professionalism, all this before the time of our modern civilization's revolution, perhaps. But, with it, marking probably the beginning of an era for other modern poets to follow into the footsteps of, a legacy, if you like.

While Gibran's work has no comparison to other English Language poets such as Shakespeare, he asserts for himself a certain standard that only he can attain and only he can ever come to - setting also a challenge for every living poet to write such wealthy material such as his; but to no avail, of course.

It would be an understatement to say that Kahlil Gibran was a genius in his time only. He was genius for all time as his work speaks for him as much as the plays and other media related inspired workings do the same, too.