The Prophet (book)

The Prophet is a book of 26 prose poetry fables written in English by the Lebanese-American poet and writer Kahlil Gibran.^[1] It was originally published in 1923 by Alfred A. Knopf. It is Gibran's best known work. The Prophet has been translated into over 100 languages, making it one of the most translated books in history,^[2] as well as one of the best selling books of all time. It has never been out of print.^[3]

Synopsis

The prophet Al Mustafa has lived in the 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, with whom he discusses topics such as life and the human condition. The book is divided into chapters dealing with love, marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, houses, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, talking, time, good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion, and death.

Popularity

The Prophet has been translated into more than 100 languages, making it one of the most translated books in history.^[2] By 2012, it had sold more than nine million copies in its American edition alone since its original publication in 1923.^[1]

Of an ambitious first printing of 2,000 in 1923, Knopf sold 1,159 copies. The demand for The Prophet doubled the following year—and doubled again the year after that. It was translated into French by Madeline Mason-Manheim in 1926. By the time of Gibran's death in 1931, it had also been translated into German. Annual sales reached 12,000 in 1935, 111,000 in 1961 and 240,000 in 1965.^[4] The book sold its one millionth copy in 1957.^[5] At one point, The Prophet sold more than 5,000 copies a week worldwide.^[4]

Inspiration

Born a

Gibran instructed that, on his death, the royalties and copyrights to his materials be owned by his hometown, Bsharri, Lebanon.^[4] The Gibran National Committee (GNC) in Bsharri manages the Gibran Museum. Founded in 1935, the GNC is a non-profit corporation holding the exclusive rights to manage Gibran's copyright in his literary and artistic works.^[19]

The Garden of the Prophet

Gibran followed The Prophet with The Garden of the Prophet, which was published posthumously in 1933.^[20] The Garden of the Prophet narrates Al Mustafa's discussions with nine disciples following Al Mustafa's return after an intervening absence.

Adaptations

• 1973 – The Profit; Albran's Serial, a parody published in 1973 by Price/Stern/Sloan, California, as written by the fictional Kehlog Albran (pseudonym for authors Martin A. Cohen and Sheldon Shacket). It reached fourth printing in 1981.^[21]
• 1974 – The Prophet by Khalil Gibran: A Musical Interpretation featuring Richard Harris. Music composed by Arif Mardin, Atlantic Records
• 1981 – On Children, a song by Sweet Honey in the Rock on their album Good News. Sets to music the words of Chapter 4 of The Prophet, also called On Children.^[22]
• 2002 –
  Gandalf and narrator Thomas Klock created an audiobook
  CD with German version – Der Prophet – layered with music.
• 2009 – The Prophet: Music Inspired by the Poetry of Khalil Gibran; An album by Australian
  ARIA
  ) for Best World Music Album 2010.
• 2010 – The Propheteer; A book of
  ISBN 978-1-4502-6057-2
• 2014 –
  Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet, an animated feature film version of the book, with Salma Hayek as producer and as the voice of the character Karima. Each chapter had an individual director, with The Lion King's Roger Allers overseeing the project.^[23]
• 2020 – The film An American Prophecy, directed by Aaron Dworkin and produced by Robin Schwartz, includes recitations from the book by front-line healthcare workers, who introduce each section with reflections on their experience battling the COVID-19 pandemic.^[24]

See also

• Translations of The Prophet

References