Professor Suheil Bushrui is
recognised as the world’s foremost authority on the life and work of Kahlil Gibran. He published his major biography, Kahlil Gibran: Man and Poet (co-authored with Joe Jenkins) in 1998. He currently holds the Kahlil Gibran Chair for Values and Peace at the University of Maryland. He was awarded the Lebanese Order of Merit granted by the Government of Lebanon for his work on conflict resolution, intercultural reconciliation, and the life and legacy of Kahlil Gibran.
Could you tell us a little about your early life and education? My early schooling was Arabic literature, Qur‘anic studies and English. I studied at several universities including the American University of Beirut, and the University of Alexandria, Egypt, where I received a Licence with distinction. My doctoral research work was done in England and my thesis was on the great Irish poet William Butler Yeats, who was a great admirer of William Blake – a poet who also greatly inspired Kahlil Gibran.
How did you come to be interested in the work of Kahlil Gibran?
From an early age I was fascinated by Arabic poetry and literature. I found in Gibran‘s use of the Arabic language a unique expression of the Romantic spirit, so much so that Gibran was, really, the father of the Romantic school of Arabic poetry.
What are the elements that have made the work of Gibran so enduringly popular in world culture?