Gibran Khalil Gibran's “The Prophet” and the American Counterculture of the 20th Century Cover Image

Пророкът на Джубран Халил Джубран и американската контракултура на 20 в.
Gibran Khalil Gibran's “The Prophet” and the American Counterculture of the 20th Century

Author(s): Vesela Todorova
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts, Poetry, Studies of Literature, Other Language Literature, Culture and social structure , Sociology of Literature
Published by: Великотърновски университет „Св. св. Кирил и Методий”
Keywords: Gibran Khalil Gibran; American Counterculture; “The Prophet”
Summary/Abstract: This paper discusses the reasons why Gibran Khalil Gibran’s book “The Prophet” has become a world literary phenomenon with more than 9,000,000 copies sold in America, as well as the influence of Al Mustafa’s messages on counterculture formation and New-Age movements in America in the 1960s. Although the work has not been well received by the academic community in America and was not highly rated by literary critics, because of its simple style, the short form of poetic essays and the symbolism used make the Prophet’s messages easily reach the heart of the American youth seeking the way to the spiritual without being obliged to obey the dogmas of organized religions.This paper discusses the reasons why Gibran Khalil Gibran’s book “The Prophet” has become a world literary phenomenon with more than 9,000,000 copies sold in America, as well as the influence of Al Mustafa’s messages on counterculture formation and New-Age movements in America in the 1960s. Although the work has not been well received by the academic community in America and was not highly rated by literary critics, because of its simple style, the short form of poetic essays and the symbolism used make the Prophet’s messages easily reach the heart of the American youth seeking the way to the spiritual without being obliged to obey the dogmas of organized religions.