Gibran Was Not Only A Talented Writer But He Was Also A Word Stylist – Pen Lebanon President And Secretary

 

GIBRAN WAS NOT ONLY A TALENTED WRITER BUT HE WAS ALSO A WORD STYLIST – PEN LEBANON PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY

 

The PEN Lebanon, a non-governmental, non-political and non-profit organisation was founded by several Lebanese writers. Since inception, it has never fallen short of its mandates which is promoting literatures of Lebanese and also defending of the freedom of expression and thought as specified in Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

 

However, in this dual Chat with Wole Adedoyin of the Kalil Gibran Society of Nigeria, Iman Humaydan, a University Professor and President of PEN Lebanon shares a heart rendering conversation about PEN Lebanon, Khalil Gibran and which was graciously translated by Marie Tawk who also is a writer and translator. Incidentally, Marie hails from the home village of Gibran and she is one of his avid readers as well. She is also Secretary, PEN Lebanon. This interview is run concurrently as Marie Tawk provides us the English narration from Professor Iman Humaydan.

 

 

WA: PLEASE KINDLY INTRODUCE YOURSELVES

IH:  I am Iman Humaydan.  A Lebanese Writer, Researcher, University Professor, and President of Pen Lebanon. I am also a Board Member of Pen International.

MT: Marie Tawk: I am a Writer and Prominent Translator from French into Arabic.

 

 

WA: TELL US ALL ABOUT PEN LEBANON

IH: Pen Lebanon was founded in 2012. It is an affiliated center to Pen International. Its main aim is to promote literature and defend the freedom of speech. Its main activity is to promote literature on different platforms and in Secondary Schools, Cultural Clubs, through organized readings of literary texts and fruitful discussions.

 

 

WA: HOW IS PEN LEBANON PROMOTING THE WORKS OF LEBANESE WRITERS?

MT: Through our reading programs, Lebanese writers visit schools invited by Pen Lebanon. They read their texts in front of the students. These visits help writers to be known by the young generation and at the same time, help students to get to know the writers and to be encouraged in writing their own texts and express themselves freely through discussions and writings. At present, we are translating poems of very young Lebanese poets that have never been translated before. This is part of a plan to promote them and make their creative writings popular. We are organizing a zoom poetry event to take place and introduce these poets to the public.

 

 

WA: WHAT MAJOR SUCCESSES HAVE YOU HAD SINCE BECOMING THE PRESIDENT OF PEN LEBANON?

IH: The literary visits that we, all members of the Pen Lebanon have been organizing to remote schools in Lebanon, as well as the continuous support to young writers. Now, because of the crisis in Lebanon and because of Covid 19, the schools have been shut down for a while now. We are planning to organize poetry events online.

 

 

 

WA: HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE KHALIL GIBRAN TO SOMEONE WHO HAS NOT READ ANY OF HIS WORKS?

IH: Gibran is local and international. His work can be described as influenced by his local atmosphere, ie.Bsharri, as well as by the international atmosphere that affected him as a writer and artist.

The Prophet, as a book is embedded in Philosophical atmosphere, has gone beyond geographical and historical frontiers. Its human value talks to all times and all places. Nevertheless, this ‘Internationalism’, if we can say, could not make us forget the hidden effects and traces of the first place of Gibran. There, where he listened for the first time to the singing of Birds, the sounds of Animals, the howl of the wind, the roar of the storm, the running water in little streams, the whisper of the air, and the pattering of the rain on the house roofs of Bsharri. We cannot see the Northern part of Lebanon but in the eyes of Gibran. He has this complexity and richness of dimensions. Gibran is very Lebanese, but at the same time he is international. The Lebanese writer Mikhail Naimi, who knew Gibran very well, wrote ‘‘we cannot see the writings of Gibran but embedded is a Lebanese character. In his sentences we see the Snow, the Water sources, the Valleys, the light that penetrates the Valleys, the Fog of early mornings etc….’’.

We, as readers of Gibran, agree with Naimi, as we cannot see the Mountainous North of Lebanon but in the eyes of Gibran. Mikhail Naimi also said ‘‘if you want to feel and smell your land, and know your country, you must read Gibran’’. From this narrow local place (Bsharri), Gibran went very far to the international scene. In this sense Gibran is a talented multi-dimensional writer. Gibran was not only a talented writer but he was also a word stylist.

 

MT: On the other hand, he is an international citizen. In his writings he called for the internationalization of religion and values. He was able to be local and international at the same time. Reading ‘The Prophet’, one can feel the human values, as this book goes beyond time. You can read it at any time and it stays contemporary at any time. Gibran was able to be the son of Mar Sarkis (an area in his village), and the son of no one. He wrote once: ‘The whole earth is my homeland and the world is my family’.  He is the international citizen, the restless who is searching in vain for a shelter that makes him feel satisfied. He is the stranger, the philosopher in a continuous search for beauty and human reality, who is never satisfied with what he finds. Gibran is the ‘outsider’ in the sense of Albert Camus word and book title ‘l’etranger’.

 

 

WA: IF READERS WOULD LIKE TO READ KHALIL GIBRAN’S BOOKS, WHAT BOOKS WOULD YOU RECOMMEND?

IH: The Broken Wings, and, Sand and Foam.

 

 

WA: GIVE US THREE "GOOD TO KNOW" FACTS ABOUT PEN LEBANON

MT: It includes multi linguistic writers. The majority of its active members are women writers. It never accepts financial support from Lebanese political authorities!

 

WA: WHAT MAKES YOU EFFECTIVE AS THE PRESIDENT OF PEN LEBANON?

IH: This should be left to other Pen members to answer. If I have to say something, it is that I try to be effective.

 

 

WA: WHAT ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW? ARE THERE ANY AUTHORS (LIVING OR DEAD) THAT YOU WOULD NAME AS INFLUENCES APART FROM KHALIL GIBRAN?

IH: I am currently reading The Books in my Life, by Henri Miller, and I am also reading the Boxes of Desire (Arabic novel written by Abbass Beydoun, a member in Pen Lebanon). There are many writers (dead and alive) whom we read and whose work is important. For example, to mention few Lebanese here: MIkhail Naimi, Maroun Abboud who reminds us of Gibran’s atmosphere too. And other international writers as for example, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Paul Auster, Toni Morrison, Wole Soyinka, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

 

 

WA: WHICH OF KHALIL GIBRAN’S BOOK INFLUENCED YOUR LIFE — AND WHY?

MT: His early writings. They are full of passion, of social criticism, of freedom of spirit, and of images that make you feel you are living the story and its place. Mainly The Madman, and Sand and Foam. We read them in the age of adolescence and they were important to us because they introduced revolutionary ideas. These books helped us to understand the negative social effects on the free souls and to believe that humans were born free. Undoubtedly, The prophet affected us too, as well as The Broken Wings.

In the Broken Wings, Gibran criticized the Lebanese society. In The Prophet, he introduces an international body of values that can be adopted in any place in the world. In all of his books, he internationalized the human values and founded the culture of peace and of openness. He is a revolutionary spirit searching for more than one reality. He was free, really free.

 

 

 

WA: WHICH CHAPTER OF THE PROPHET WAS THE MOST PERSONALLY INTERESTING TO YOU? WERE THERE ANY FACTS OR THEMES THAT YOU WOULD HAVE LIKED TO INCLUDE, BUT KHALIL GIBRAN DIDN'T MAKE INTO THE BOOK?

IH: The Chapter on Love. Gibran topics went into philosophical directions. He covered many subjects and themes. However, he did not tackle the topic of sex, gender and gender relations; neither he went profoundly into the concrete practical meanings of social justice. And lastly, he did not talk about aging. But a good writer never writes about everything.

 

WA: WHAT ARE YOUR THREE FAVORITE BOOKS BY KHALIL GIBRAN —AND WHY?

 

MT: We already mentioned above 3 titles of books beside the Prophet. Here add, also the book ‘The Storms’. I suggest them because of their human values, and because they carry very important messages on the innate freedom of human beings. They are the religious and social authorities that make human beings prisoners of the traditional frustrating norms and habits.

 

 

WA: WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT YOUR READERS TO KNOW ABOUT PEN LEBANON AND YOUR FUTURE PROJECT ON KHALIL GIBRAN?

IH: It is important to found Pen centers all over the world. We founded Pen Lebanon because we want to have our voices heard and our works read. Pen Centers in the world enhance cultural and literary exchange and this is a very good initiative that writers all over the world need. What a pleasure now to find ourselves writing about Gibran and about our center to Gibran Society in Nigeria. This is what Pen centers do: Openness towards the other, a value that Gibran himself believed in. We hope to continue promoting literature and freedom of writing and expression. Actually, Gibran’s work is a part of the yearly education program for schools.

 

 

WA:   WHAT MESSAGE WOULD YOU GIVE TO KHALIL GIBRAN READERS AND LOVERS?

MT: The world is in a health crisis; Lebanon is not only in health crisis but also taken hostage by vicious military powers who do not believe in peace nor in an independent Lebanon. We need Gibran     today more than ever, as his writings be a light to our dark times. He was among the first who wrote on peace in its spiritual and philosophical dimensions. We call every person who works for peace to read him again and to read him always. Khalil Gibran writings can be a constitution for human values.