Overview

Kahlil Gibran--poet, philosopher, and artist--was born in Lebanon in 1883 but spent his final twenty years of life living in the United States. The three books that compose this audiobook are collections of Gibran's aphorisms, parables, and poetic essays. The first book, The Prophet, was originally published in 1923 and is considered Gibran's masterpiece. It is written in prose poetry in twenty-eight parts, and deals with such topics as love, freedom, good and evil, religion, and death. It is a mystical and intensely subjective work, presenting the human soul as essentially noble and good. In The Forerunner, originally published in 1920, Gibran asserts that nobody is to be blamed for our 'being' and 'having' but ourselves. Gibran makes it clear that we are our own destiny and not the toy of a blind fate. Finally, the titular entity of The Madman, originally published in 1918, is not literally mentally unbalanced; on the contrary, he is perfectly healthy. His madness is only in the eyes of others. Gibran asserts that we tend to be what society expects from us, even though these expectations could be detrimental for the development of our self-identity. Oftentimes, we veil our true selves with masks out of fear of being ridiculed by others.

Full Product Details

9798200133079

Table of Contents

Reviews

"""Free of dogma, free of power structures and metaphysics, consider these poetic, moving aphorisms a twentieth-century supplement to all sacred traditions--as millions of other readers already have."" -- ""Amazon.com, editorial review"""

Author Information

Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) was a Lebanese-American artist, poet, and writer chiefly known in the English-speaking world for his 1923 book The Prophet. A native of what is now Lebanon, he immigrated with his family to the United States in 1895, where he studied art and began his literary career, writing in both English and Arabic. Jonathan Reese was trained from an early age in music and theater. Of his many credits he was proudest of being a founding member of Berkeley's Straw Hat review. Formidably intelligent, deeply sympathetic, and highly sensitive to his material, he was perfectly suited for literary narration. His many audiobooks include The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer, Just as I Am by Billy Graham, Travels in Alaska by John Muir, and Without a Hero by T. Coraghessan Boyle. A native Californian, Reese died in San Francisco in 1999.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available