The Prophet

Kahlil Gibran

With original paintings by the author

The remarkable verse of Kahlil Gibran has touched the lives of tens of millions of people. This hugely influential work is now presented in a stunning Folio edition for the first time.

£60.00
£60.00

After 12 years in exile, the wise man Al Mustapha is about to set sail for his homeland. His parting gift to the inhabitants of the island on which he has been exiled is a series of poems on life’s crucial questions, including love, family, work and death. First published in 1923, translated into more than 40 languages and never out of print, Kahlil Gibran’s lyrical expression of spiritual truth has been adopted universally by people of all and no faiths.

This long-awaited Folio edition is an exquisite tribute to a literary phenomenon, with the 26 verses published alongside full-colour renditions of the author’s original paintings. Gibran considered himself foremost an artist, and we worked closely with the Gibran Foundation in Lebanon to source and carefully reproduce this spectacular collection. The poems are set in the cursive Poetica typeface, specifically selected for its clarity. A beautiful blocked binding, ribbon marker and striking metallic-blocked slipcase complete this collector’s edition.

Production Details

Bound in blocked cloth with typography by Undt

Set in Poetica

112 pages

Frontispiece and 10 integrated colour illustrations and 2 black & white illustrations

Ribbon marker

Blocked slipcase

10¼˝ x 7½˝

One of the bestselling books of all time

Such is the universal adoration for The Prophet that only Shakespeare and Lao Tzu have outsold it, and its timeless messages continue to inspire. Gibran speaks with an honesty and purity that forges instant connections. For this reason, his work is frequently shared to celebrate unions and commemorate lives: weddings and christenings the world over have included readings from his book, and it is the perfect gift to mark significant life events.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls

  1. excerpt from ’Marriage’

A celebrated writer on the cusp between cultures

Gibrain was born in Lebanon and raised in the United States, while his art studies took him to Paris for two years. He moved fluidly between cultures and languages, writing in both English and Arabic at the beginning of his literary career. His prose, poetry and art are firmly entrenched in romanticism and his readers have been rewarded with one of the great works of mystic poetry; a spiritual manual for life that transcends religion, language and culture.

During his lifetime Gibran was lauded by some of the greatest cultural influencers of the 20th century, including Yeats, Yung and Rodin. His reach only intensified after his death, as readers have continued to turn to his book for inspiration. From influencing Beatles’ song lyrics and John F. Kennedy’s inauguration speech, to inspiring Indira Ghandi and Elvis Presley (he kept an annotated copy of The Prophet locked in a black box), the poetry of Gibran continues to offer words of solace, encouragement and wisdom for daily life.

About Kahlil Gibran

Kahlil Gibran, born in Bsharri in 1883, was a Lebanese writer, poet and artist. In 1895 Gibran and some of his family emigrated to Boston, and during his young adult life he moved between Lebanon, Paris and New York. Deciding to live permanently in New York from 1911, Gibran committed his full attention to writing. In 1920 he joined Al Ra¯bitah Al Qualamiya, an Arabic literary society otherwise known as The Pen League. Their goal was to ‘lift Arabic literature from the quagmire of stagnation and imitation’. Influenced by his peers and fellow society members Nasib Arida and Abdul Massih Haddad, Gibran wrote work in Arabic, including Al-’Awāsif (1920) and Al-Bada’i’waal-Tara’if (1923), as well as in English, including Jesus, the Son of Man (1928) and The Earth Gods (1931), blending Arabic and English language in his unconventional and often rebellious voice. His seminal work, The Prophet (1923), made up of 26 prose poems, has been translated into over 40 languages and since its publication has never been out of print. Gibran died in New York in 1931.

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