The Madman

‘The Madman,’ originally published in 1918, is a thought-provoking collection of aphoristic parables and poetry that explores the desires and motivations of humankind by Kahlil Gibran, widely known in America as the author of ‘The Prophet’, which sold more copies in the 20th century than any other book but the Bible, the great Lebanese-American poet and artist. He first became known to Americans in 1918 with the publication of ‘The Madman’.
Thought-provoking and inspiring, the book is a collection of memorable, life-affirming parables and poems, many of them casting an ironic light on the beliefs, aspirations, and vanities of humankind—and many reminiscent of the work of Tagore and Nietzsche, both of whom were strong influences on Gibran.
Among the 35 poems and parables in this volume are: “How I Became a Madman,” “The Two Hermits,” “The Wise Dog,” “The Good God and the Evil God,” “Night and the Madman,” “The Three Ants,” “When My Sorrow Was Born,” “And When My Joy Was Born,” and many more.

Born in 1883 in the mountainous village of Bsharri in modern-day Lebanon, then part of the Ottoman Empire, Kahlil Gibran experienced a childhood marked by poverty and a lack of formal education. Seeking a better life, his mother immigrated to the United States in 1895, settling the family in the South End of Boston. It was there that Gibran's innate artistic talents were first recognized by a progressive settlement house, introducing the young immigrant to the local avant-garde art scene and setting him on a lifelong creative path.

To preserve his cultural heritage, Gibran returned to Lebanon in 1898 for several years of formal schooling. He traveled back to Boston in 1902 amidst a series of severe family tragedies, losing a brother, a sister, and his mother to illness in rapid succession. Despite his profound grief, he began to establish himself as both a painter and an Arabic-language writer. His trajectory shifted significantly when he met Mary Haskell, a school headmistress who became his lifelong benefactor, funding his art studies in Paris and heavily editing his later English writings.

Relocating to New York City in 1911, Gibran immersed himself in the local literary community and began to transition from writing exclusively in Arabic to publishing in English. His unique synthesis of Eastern mysticism, romanticism, and Western literary styles culminated in his 1923 masterpiece, The Prophet. This brief but deeply moving collection of poetic essays, exploring universal human themes such as love, joy, sorrow, and work, resonated profoundly with readers. Although it initially received a lukewarm reception from critics, it quickly found massive word-of-mouth success.

Over the following decades, The Prophet achieved phenomenal international popularity, cementing Gibran as one of the best-selling poets in history. He spent his final years continuing to write and paint, though he struggled with declining health and severe alcoholism. Gibran died in New York in 1931 at the age of forty-eight from cirrhosis of the liver and tuberculosis. Fulfilling his final wishes, his remains were returned to his hometown in Lebanon, where he is celebrated as a national hero and an enduring symbol of spiritual and literary bridge-building between the East and West.