Myths about Lebanon in Lebanon: I have always wanted to write a book about Lebanese myths, not only on the political level. There is a national narcissism that afflicts the Lebanese political and popular cultures. I just read this article on Jubran (you call him Kahlil Gibran here in the US): and Jubran (who was demonized and vilified by the Church in Lebanon throughout his life--just read the journal Al-Mashriq in the 1920s and 1930s on that or read my article here) provides the basis of many myths. At one lunch in Beirut, I was just talking about that to an official at UN in Beirut (she also is the sister of the current prime minister, Fu'ad Sanyurah), and she was surprised when I told her that Jubran's books are not considered English literature in US colleges and universities, and that they are not used in courses in literature. She was quite astonished. I told her that you mostly encounter Jubran's writings in Hallmark Cards, which also are not used on college campuses. This article I read by this Lebanese writer also said that Jubran's The Prophet is the 4th (remember that Lebanese like to rank everything) best selling book in the world EVER. I have to write that book somebody, and in Arabic.
P.S. Having said that, I must confess that as a child Jubran's Arabic writings influenced me more than anything else. They had that rebellious spirit, especially that short story, Khalil Al-Kafir (Khalil, the Unbeliever) in his collection Al-Arwah Al-Mutamarridah (Rebellious Spirits). But the prophet is my least favorite of his work. You cannot read Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra and still be impressed with the Prophet. This is like moving from the Economist to...Time magazine or People.