"A Child of Life" by Michel El-Ashkar - Sep 18, 2004
About
On September 18, 2004,
the Lebanese Club @ MIT hosted artist Michel El-Ashkar in his
internationally acclaimed monodrama,
A
Child of Life, a theatrical dramatic interpretation (in English)
of 2 acts that chronicles many of the highlights of Lebanese-American poet
and artist Kahlil Gibrans life. The play has been performed to standing
ovations around the US and in major world capitals, more recently in
Jordans annual Jarash Festival this summer under the personal auspices of
her Majesty Queen Nour. It has received very positive reviews and official
Kahlil
Gibran Day proclamations from the mayors of 9 cities in the
US, all of which are featured on a website that had been dedicated to this
event:
http://web.mit.edu/lebanon/AChildOfLife
Two surprise
announcements preceded the event on Saturday night. The mayors of both
Boston and Cambridge were thoughtful enough to officially proclaim the night
of the event, September 18, as
Kahlil Gibran Day in their
respective cities!
(see proclamations)
Guest of honor at the event was Mr. Kahlil Gibran, godson, cousin, and
namesake of the famous Gibran himself. Internationally recognized as a
"Renaissance Man", he is a remarkably talented sculptor, painter, poet,
writer, and inventor. He has won numerous international gold medals and
honors including the George Wiedner Medal, two Guggenheim fellowships, the
Boston Popular Award and Grand Prize at the Boston Arts Festival, the Gold
Medal in Italy for Sculpture, and much more. He is also a founding member of
the Copley Society, Boston's oldest cooperative gallery, and has donated an
annual scholarship for artists affiliated with the Society. Born in 1922, he
is the godson, cousin, and namesake of the famous Lebanese poet and painter
Kahlil Gibran, and has been entrusted with a formidable body of artwork and
manuscripts left by the poet, including that of The Prophet. He has
published with his wife, Jean, the most authoritative study and biography of
Gibran titled Kahlil Gibran: His Life and World. In tribute to Mr.
Gibrans special presence amongst the crowd on Saturday night, his generous
artistic contributions to the city of Boston and the scholarly world of
Gibran were acknowledged before the start of Act I.
The event was sponsored by the World Lebanese Cultural Union, the
American Lebanese Engineering Society, the Middle East Airlines,
and the MIT Graduate Student Council.
It attracted hundreds of
students, professors, and intellectuals from Harvard and MIT, among many
members of the Lebanese and Middle Eastern community in greater Boston.
Press (English)
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Department of State's Washington File, 10/27/2004 ( )
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Naharnet, 10/14/2004 ()
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Profile News, 10/2004 |
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Cedar News, 10/2004 ()
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The Daily Star, 10/2/2004 ()
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The Tech, 9/21/2004 ()
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Eagle Tribune (scan), 9/17/2004
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Eagle Tribune, 9/17/2004 ()
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Tech
Talk, 9/15/2004 |
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MIT News Office,
10/27/2004 ()
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CEE Newsletter (TBA) |
Press (Arabic)
Proclamations
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Boston Proclamation
by Mayor Menino |
Cambridge Proclamation
by Mayor Sullivan |
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