Celebrate Gibran

A Celebration of the 125th Anniversary of Khalil Gibran’s Birth

The World Lebanese Cultural Union – Greater Boston Chapter is presenting a 125th anniversary celebration of Khalil Gibran’s birth.  The event will be held on Thursday, December 4th at the Boston Public Library (700 Boylston St.), Copley Square, from 6 to 8:30 pm.  The event is free and open to the public.  Directions: http://www.bpl.org/general/directions.htm

The event is highlighted by the presentation of “The Enduring Legacy of Khalil Gibran” by Professor Suheil Bushrui, Director of the Khalil Gibran Chair for Values and Peace at the University of Maryland.  The event will also present dance performances by Wendy Jehlen, Founder Artistic Director of the Anikai Dance Company and the WLCU Youth Dabke Dance Group.

Professor Suheil Bushrui
Professor Suheil Badi Bushrui is a distinguished author, poet, critic, translator, and media personality who is well known in the United States, the Middle East, India, Africa, and the Arab world. Presently, Bushrui was the first incumbent of CIDCM's Bahá'ì Chair for World Peace, a position to which he was appointed from 1992 to 2005. He is the founder and current Director of the University of Maryland’s Kahlil Gibran Research and Studies Project. Well known for his seminal studies in English of the works of W.B. Yeats and for his translations of Yeats' poetry into Arabic, Bushrui is also the foremost authority on the works of Kahlil Gibran.


Bushrui not only publishes widely, but also maintains a full schedule presenting lectures at international conferences, scholarly seminars, literary gatherings, and student-organized events at the University of Maryland and other local, national, and international campuses. Professor Bushrui is an active participant in many international organizations dedicated to the promulgation of peace and conflict resolution. He is a founding member of the International Dialogue on Transition to a Global Society. He also serves on the Board of Governors of The Temple of Understanding, a world-wide interfaith organization which is an affiliate of the United Nations, and he is an International Fellow of the Temenos Academy in London. Bushrui was recently appointed Creative Member of The Club of Budapest.

Bushrui has taught at universities around the world, including Oxford (U.K.); York (Canada); and Ibadan (Nigeria). He was the first Arab national to be appointed to the Chair of English at the American University of Beirut. From 1982 to 1988, Professor Bushrui was Cultural Advisor and official interpreter to the President of the Republic of Lebanon. In 1983 he headed a presidential committee in Lebanon which organized the international celebrations to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kahlil Gibran. These activities focused on the theme of Unity in Diversity and were held in Beirut, Oxford, London, and Washington, D.C.

Professor Bushrui's published work is extensive, in both English and Arabic; his work on Gibran, in particular, has been translated into French, Italian, Spanish and Chinese. His most recent publications include: the first annotated edition of Gibran's The Prophet (1995); The Ethical Dimensions of Science, Art, Religion, and Politics (1996, co-edited with Miles Bradbury); and a forthcoming university textbook on the religions of the world entitled The Spiritual Heritage of the Human Race: An Introduction, as well as an up-to-date biography of Gibran entitled Kahlil Gibran: Man and Poet.

 Wendy Jehlen  
"Wendy Jehlen is a Boston area choreographer of Contemporary Dance and is the founder and artistic director of the Anikai Dance Company.  Her work is based in her training in Bharata Natyam, Odissi, Kuchipudi, Capoeira, West African dance, American and European Modern and Contemporary dance styles. Jehlen's choreography incorporates her training in all of these dance forms.  She will perform "On Beauty”, choreographed by Carolyn Kay, adapted from poetry by Kahlil Gibran.

 WLCU Youth Dabke Group  
The WLCU Youth Dabke Group has been very active in the Boston area performing uniquely traditional Lebanese styles of folkloric line dance “dabke”.  
                                                      Event Contact: [email protected]