Earlier in April this year, the United Nations HQ in New York City honored Lebanese US writer Gibran Khalil Gibran with a three-day exhibition entitled “Khalil Gibran returns to New York after 100 years.” The exhibition featured more than 30 artworks, including oil paintings, watercolors, charcoal drawings as well as the first edition of Gibran’s masterpiece “The Prophet”.

This week, it was announced that a marble sculpture of Khalil Gibran will be inaugurated in New York City to honor the author on the 100th anniversary of Gibran’s literary masterpiece. The sculpture will be placed in the garden of St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery, which was close to Gibran’s now-demolished apartment.

It’s a significant location because it was reportedly where the first public reading of “The Prophet” took place in 1923. Instead of building a traditional bust of the author himself, the monument will emulate a symbolist drawing he made, entitled “Hand of God,” for the cover of “The Prophet.” It will also accommodate an accessible podium for live recitals. The structure, resembling a hand with emerging ‘human flames,’ is being created by the Lebanese artist Rudy Rahme, who hails from the same village as Gibran, Bcharre. [Source]

The statue is expected to be unveiled in September 2023.