Hope Is an Arrow

Book excerpt: A lyrical biography of Kahlil Gibran by award-winning writer Cory McCarthy, with glorious illustrations by Caldecott Honoree and two-time Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award winner Ekua Holmes. Before Kahlil Gibran ever put his pen to the page to eventually become the world's third best-selling poet of all time, he was Gibran Khalil Gibran, a child immigrant from Lebanon who had a secret hope. That hope sprung from his experiences in Lebanon, where Christians and Muslims crashed like two strong headwinds, and in Boston, where the wealthy crashed with the poor. His secret hope: to connect all people from around the world, bringing them together despite their differences and beliefs. But how could he bring people together when he himself felt fractured? He was Kahlil Gibran, the Arab American who struggled to make a home in America, and he was Gibran Khalil Gibran, the Lebanese boy who missed his home, struggling to hold on to his roots. Kahlil found his answer in writing poetry. Kahlil's secret hope, shot like an arrow from Lebanon, feathered by the spirit of American independence, became a book called The Prophet. And even today, Kahlil's words continue to fly around the world, bringing people together.