Kahlil Gibran’s Little Book of Life

Edited and with an introduction and notes by Neil Douglas-Klotz

For the past eighty years, the beautiful words of the Lebanese-American poet Kahlil Gibran have graced everything from greeting cards and wedding invitations to inspirational wall hangings and corporate motivational literature. By one account, Gibran is the third bestselling poet of all time, after Shakespeare and Lao-Tzu.

In this beautiful gift book, we discover the essential wisdom about what it means to be alive. For Gibran life is the energy that saturates all we see and feel–as well as what we can only imagine. Here are over 100 fables, aphorisms, parables, stories, and poems from the author of The Prophet. Here on display is that visionary voice of comfort, love, and tolerance.

“One of the 50 Best Spiritual Books of 2018” —Spirituality and Practice Magazine

Solitude
Solitude is a silent storm
that breaks down all our dead branches.
Yet it sends our living roots deeper
into the living heart of the living earth.

“Douglas-Klotz (Prayers of the Cosmos) compiles Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran’s writings on energy, vitality, and expression in this pocket-sized first book of the “Little Book” series. Douglas-Klotz draws from the full breadth of Gibran’s oeuvre (including many poems from Spirits Rebellious and The Garden of the Prophet) and organizes his selections under six themes: the life of nature, beauty, the human journey, seasons, paradoxes, and the soul. Highlights include selections on connecting with nature through solitude, the triumph of life in the face of suffering, and the limits of knowledge. Purposefully avoiding Gibran’s best-known work, The Prophet, this slim gift book will serve as a solid guide for Gibran fans looking for an easy entrée into his less popular work.” -Publishers Weekly

“Intersperses quotes from the book with lesser-known works to demonstrate Gibran’s reflections on the topics of life and living. Douglas-Klotz admits that while some of these sayings are comforting, others are confusing, even disturbing. This is, he claims, the mystic’s willingness to engage chaos as well as peace, signifying Gibran’s embrace of all of life. Selection notes provide an important guide for further reading; an “About the Author” endnote is also helpful. Poems, parables, and stories for mystical hearts.” -Library Journal

“Exploring the 100 fables, poems, and parables in this collection, we sense the creativity and energy that animated Gibran…. In the Introduction, Douglas-Klotz gives some background on Gibran’s Middle East culture, nature mysticism, and spirituality. He makes it clear that this gifted poet was in sync with the vitality of the life within and the life all around him in the pulsating world.” -Spirituality and Practice

Hampton Roads, 224 pages paperback.

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