Music (1905)
Music is a collection of articles published by Gibran in the daily newspaper Al Muhajer (The Emigrant). It is a rigorous essay on the intonations and influences of music that he saw as the "voice of the soul". It is the melody of feelings and human secrets, and the most profound and developed language for expressing the "interiority" of life, people and societies.
Nymphs of the Valley (1906)
The Nymphs of the Valley is a collection of three short stories: Dust of the Ages and the Eternal Fire, a storythatrevolves around the "soul"; Martha, the story of an innocent little girl who, despite her pure nature, gives in to temptation and becomes the victim of debauchery; and Yuhanna the Madman, the story of a shepherd passionate about Christ and his Bible.
Spirits Rebellious (1908)
Four stories depicting, through the actions of their heroes, Gibran's repudiation of the scourges of oriental society. Gibran here pleads for the rights and freedom of women, justifies rebellion against traditions and ends his story by attacking customs' blind laws.
Broken Wings (1912)
Selma Karameh is the victim of her own beauty and wealth. Forced into a marriage and neglected by her surroundings, she ends up wilting away slowly.
In Broken Wings, Gibran defends Women's' right to love; a novel based on personal experience, and probably Gibran's first love in Beirut.
A Tear and a Smile (1914)
A wide spectrum of essays: a meditation in 56 articles on the phenomena of a constraining and violated life. The "tear", Gibran used to say "purifies my heart and gives me understanding of life's secrets and hidden things"; while the "smile" "draws me right to the sons of my kind and is the symbol of my glorification of the gods."
The Madman (1918) First publication of Gibran in English
The Madman is an anthology of 27 parables that aim at giving significance, profound and perspicuous morality to life. In addition to four articles and two dialogues, the whole is preceded by a preamble entitled "How I became mad".
The Processions (1919)
A long poem written in a classical style formed of 17 verses, where every verse is an allegory that reveals its significance through a philosophical dialogue between the elder representing philosophy, and youth representing nature.
Twenty Drawings (1919)
Twenty Drawings is a selection from Gibran's visual work; a collection of drawings and paintings clearly exposing his artistic sensibility. It is a complete work revealing Gibran's "Vision"…
The Tempests (1920)
It is one of Gibran's most diversified works: one can find a journalistic article, a short story and even a play. The book uncovers simultaneously different facets of Gibran: Gibran the poet, the rebel, the mediator and the modest wise man.
The Forerunner (1920)
The Forerunner includes 19 parables, 3 articles and an introduction. It is a collection that sums up the "Gibranian becoming", depicted as "you are your own forerunner…"
The Prophet (1923)
The prophet "Al Mustafa", or the educator, has lived in the foreign city of Orphalese for 12 years and is about to board a ship which will carry him home. He is stopped by a group of people, to whom he divulges the fruit of his experiences and the essence of his wisdom in 26 existential verses on man's life. He starts with the question of Love – treated in the chapters "On Marriage", "On Children", "On Giving", "On Work", "On Prayer", "On Beauty", "On Religion"…. – to finish on the theme of Death…
The Prophet is an English written book that was translated into over 40 different languages.
The book is in its 163rd printing and has sold over 100 million copies since its original publication in 1923.
The Prophet is consistently in the bestselling category (overall) at Amazon and one of the bestselling books of all time.
The New and the Marvelous (1923)
It combines several articles and a concise essay on the future of Arabic language, depicted in a play, a short story and twelve classical poems with a Sufi spirit. The book treats a wide range of unlinked topics, for the editor chose to haphazardly put together articles published earlier by Gibran in periodicals and daily newspapers.
Sand and Foam (1926)
Sand and Foam is a collection of 316 maxims, many of which are short allegorical stories. One part was drafted by Gibran directly in English, while the rest was translated from Arabic. The book also includes some expressive and intense drawings of his.
Gibran defined his book as "a pinch of sand, and a handful of foam."
Jesus the Son of Man (1928)
An innovator… Gibran proposes a new methodology to approach and analyze Jesus Christ as a person, moving ahead of most philosophers and intellectuals who studied the life of Jesus and explored his teachings.
The Earth Gods (1931)
Through a long poem in prose, Gibran introduces three gods, or spirits, representing the elements of force, power and love… The book depicts their opinion on people, life and divinity…. In this collection Gibran reaches the paroxysm of an unlimited imagination, conveying the efforts of man to equal God.
The Wanderer (1932) Posthumous publication
52 stories that can best be described as mythical or symbolic, echoing the same style used in The Madman and The Forerunner.
The Wanderer is a man "pure of spirit and white of heart" who leans over a society sinking into the abysses of traditions and habits, eternally tormented by contradictions, illusions and dreams.
Struggling with illness, Gibran finished this book during the fall of 1930. He reviewed it in the beginning of 1931, but died before its publication.
The Garden of the Prophet (1933) Posthumous publication
"Al Mustafa" returns to his native island, the garden of the prophet. After 40 days spent in retreat in his garden, he receives the visit of 9 persons from the neighborhood and begins to teach them the secrets of men's relationship with life, the universe and with the dreams of the soul which "bloom in the heart's tree of the sky…"
Works Translated from Arabic and Published Posthumously
| Tears and Laughter (Dam'a wa Ibtisama) |
1947 |
Translated by A.R. Ferris, New York |
| Nymphs of the Valley (Arayis al Muruj) |
1948 |
Translated by H.M. Nahmad, New York |
| Spirits Rebellious (Al Arwah al Mutamarridah) |
1948 |
Translated by H.M. Nahmad, New York |
| A Tear and a Smile (Dam'a wa Ibtisama) |
1950 |
Translated by H.M. Nahmad, New York |
| The Processions (Al Mawakib) |
1958 |
Translated by George Khairallah, New York |
| The Broken Wings (Al Ajnihah al Mutakassirah) |
1959 |
Translated by A.R. Ferris, New York |
