الإنجليزية 1420

Kahlil Gibran was born on January 6, 1883 in Northern Lebanon. He did not receive any formal education as a small child but had regular visits from the local priest who taught him the essentials of religion and the Bible, and the Syrian and Arabic languages. At the age of eight, Gibran's father was accused of tax evasion and thrown into an Ottoman jail. The authorities confiscated all of the family's possessions and the family had to stay with relatives. Gibran's strong and independent mother decided that it would be best for her family to start a new life in America, and on June 25, 1895, they emigrated to the United States. Gibran's father was released in 1894 but refused to join the family in the move. The rest of the family settled in Boston's South End, a highly Arabic community in which they felt very comfortable. They took over the running of a dry goods store and Gibran began to attend Boston public schools. In 1896, Gibran met Fred Holland Day, who opened up many cultural doors for Gibran, showing him the wonders of the artistic community that thrived in Boston. Day had Gibran's images made into cover designs for books in 1898, earning Gibran fame at an early age in the Boston art circles. His family, not wanting Gibran to be lost in this new world, forced him to return to Lebanon to complete his education and learn the Arabic language. In 1898 he enrolled in Madrasat-al-Hikmah, a Masonite-founded school, which offered a nationalistic curriculum partial to church writings, history and liturgy. The curriculum was not challenging to Gibran and he ordered it tailored to his specifications. The teachers complied, and Gibran immersed himself in the Arabic language bible. He finished college in 1902, after learning Arabic, French, and excelling in poetry. He returned to the U. S. soon after, after being notified that his sister had fallen ill. Upon his return, Gibran was forced to take over control of the family business when both hi