al-Shawaeir al-sharifa [The Noble Sentiments], Edited by Yaqub Rouphail, New York: Al-Hoda Press, 1923 [digitized by the Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA]. ___________
al-Shawaeir al-sharifa [The Noble Sentiments], is an edited collection of poems and speeches presented on April 7, 1923 in honor of Silver Anniversary celebration of Al-Hoda [Guidance]; the second half of the text contains material presented at a similar celebration several months later in Mexico City. Al-Hoda, one of the earliest Arabic-language Lebanese-American newspapers,was founded by Naoum A. Mokarzel (1864-1932), who also headed a publishing press under the same name. Edited by Yaqub Rouphail, who served as editor of al-Akhlaq [Manners] magazine, the text contains contributions by many notable Arab-Americans including: Kahlil Gibran, Mikhail Naimy, Nadrah Haddad, and the feminist writer Afifa Karam. The pieces predominantly consist of celebrations of Naoum Mokarzel, the publishing press, and the numerous cultural and professional accomplishments achieved by the Lebanese-American community in just 35 years.
