The Prophet

The Prophet is a book of 26 prose poetry fables written in English by the Lebanese-American artist, philosopher and writer Kahlil Gibran. Originally published in 1923, it is Gibran's best known work and has been translated into over 40 different languages. The prophet, Almustafa, has lived in the foreign city of Orphalese for 12 years and is about to board a ship which will carry him home. He is stopped by a group of people, with whom he discusses topics such as life and the human condition. The book is divided into chapters dealing with work, love, marriage, eating and drinking, joy and sorrow, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, pleasure, beauty, religion, crime and punishment, reason and passion, and death.