Khalil Gibran, Skewered
In Lebanon, Khalil Gibran is treated as something of a national poet. But outside of this country, Gibran's reputation is more -- controversial. One English professor recently felt moved to write an entire poem, in blank verse, to express his hatred of Gibran. It's pretty hilarious. To quote the first verse:
Expansive and yet vacuous is the prose of Kahlil Gibran,
And weary grows the mind doomed to read it.
The hours of my penance lengthen,
The penance established for me by the editor of this magazine,
And those hours may be numbered as the sands of the desert.
And for each of them Kahlil Gibran has prepared
Another ornamental phrase,
Another faux-Biblical cadence,
Another affirmation proverbial in its intent
But alas! lacking the moral substance,
The peasant shrewdness, of the true proverb.
Comments (3)
My sentiments exactly... For all the pride I feel at Gebran's fame, I could never stomach his prose, especially not the "prophet", and even less his novels...
Then again, I was never fond of those romantics "ä la Chateaubrian".
Posted by Jeha | November 6, 2007 2:41 PM
Posted on November 6, 2007 14:41
I've actually never got around to reading him. But, from my limited contact, he doesn't seem like my type of writer. I prefer my authors to be a little more literal-minded. Take Hemingway. Short, easy to understand descriptions: "You're an expatriate. You've lost touch with the soil. You get precious. Fake European standards have ruined you. You drink yourself to death. You become obsessed by sex. You spend all your time talking, not working. You are an expatriate, see. You hang around cafés."
And with that, I attempt to return to my Arabic homework... :)
Posted by David Kenner | November 6, 2007 2:56 PM
Posted on November 6, 2007 14:56
David,
You may have read him. His gems are often found in 99 cent Hallmark cards available at most drug stores.
Posted by Homo Libanus | November 6, 2007 8:29 PM
Posted on November 6, 2007 20:29