Khalil Gibran (1883 – 1931) Born Gibran Khalil Gibran, and also known as Kahlil Gibran, was an artist, poet and writer. In a dream I saw Jesus and My God Pan sitting together in the heart of the forest. They laughed at each other's speech, with the brook that ran near them, and the laughter of Jesus was the merrier. And they conversed long. Vain are the beliefs and teachings that make man miserable, and false is the goodness that leads him into sorrow and despair, for it is man's purpose to be happy on this earth and lead the way to felicity and preach its gospel wherever he goes. He who does not see the kingdom of heaven in this life will never see it in the coming life. We came not into this life by exile, but we came as innocent creatures of God, to learn how to worship the holy and eternal spirit and seek the hidden secrets within ourselves from the beauty of life. This is the truth which I have learned from the teachings of the Nazarene. For Khalil Gibran no single religious tradition revealed the whole truth about life so he wove together insights from Eastern Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, American Transcendentalism, and the folklore of his native Lebanon to create his own universal "Anthem of Humanity"... he attacks narrow-mindedness, clerical hypocrisy and political injustice, and issues a declaration of faith in life itself.
I started summer 2012 seeing One Direction, not once but TWICE in concert! Let me just say this: they were AWESOME! I could go on and on (and on, just ask my friends) about my favorite four British boys and one Irish boy, but I won't. I could talk loads about Harry's accent, Niall's laugh and Louis's trousers but I will stop myself and instead mention that NYPL has bought their journal memoir Dare to Dream! As we wait patiently for it to arrive and listen to Up All Night on replay, here are some novels filled with charming, brooding, floppy haired British and Irish boys. Falling in Love with English Boys by Melissa Jensen Cat is not happy that she has to spend the summer in rainy London while her professor mother does research. The situation gets infinitely better when she discovers British chocolate, makes friends with three fun girls and meets Will. The mahogany haired Brit boy, with a killer accent, makes her laugh but confuses her with his mixed signals. Included in Cat's story is the diary of Katherine, a girl who lived 200 years ago and is experiencing her own boy problems namely a Mr. Nicholas Everhard, her elder brother's best friend.