As Told and Recorded by Joseph Nahas

by Francesco Medici

All Rights Reserved © Copyright Francesco Medici 2026

Gibran and Al-Mohajer — “The Emigrant” newspaper, New York

Joseph Nahas (1896–1987) met Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931) at the office of “Al-Mohajer” (“The Emigrant”), an Arabic language newspaper that was founded in New York by Ameen Goryeb (1880–1971) and where the poet began publishing his early articles. Nahas, who was employed as an assistant to the editor, had the opportunity to see Gibran often and spend a great deal of time with him. A fascinating yet little-known account of their meetings is preserved in the appendix of “Seventy-Eight and Still Musing,” a book Nahas published in 1974.¹

Ameen Goryeb (1880–1971), founder of Al-Mohajer

The primary value of the anecdotes recorded by Nahas is that they offer first-hand insights into Gibran’s daily life — for example, his habits, his sudden changes of mood, and his opinions on a wide variety of subjects. Some of the most vivid pages of “Gibran Reminiscences” — the title of the appendix — are undoubtedly those devoted to Gibran’s relationships with women, particularly with May Ziyadeh (1886–1941), the celebrated Lebanese-Palestinian poet and writer who was living in Cairo at the time. Some excerpts from them are reproduced below:

May Ziyadeh (1886–1941), Lebanese-Palestinian poet and writer

“Gibran’s sex life was enigmatic, to say the least. While he adored beauty — particularly that in the feminine form — his living seemed to me (and I was not one of his closest associates because he was thirteen years my senior in age) to be that of a confirmed celibate. Like most artists, he occasionally employed female and male models to pose for him (sometimes in the nude, covered with a thin veil for his symbolic paintings), yet no scandal about his art life and conduct was ever heard by me. I cannot let this pass, however, without saying that Gibran was deeply in love with a girl writer in Egypt, May Ziadeh. He never met her, to my knowledge, except through correspondence, which she initiated by criticizing his book ‘Broken Wings’ and his radical stand on the morality of the then existing marriage vows. It is known that her views were instrumental to a great extent in Gibran’s modifying his stand on that subject, as regarding the Roman Catholic Church, and the customs of the Middle East, which change resulted in the church and civil authorities lifting the ban against him and his writings.”

Portrait of May Ziyadeh by Kahlil Gibran

“[…] When Gibran was asked about his remote lovemaking to May Ziadeh and whether he would eventually marry her, he replied, ‘I venerate womanhood in general, and May stands out as would a beacon lighting its surroundings, wiping out the darkness of ignorance, guiding seafarers to a safe shore… I love her because of her high intelligence and keen conception of the true values of life. It is not her mortal body which I adore, but the fruit of her fertile mind… I stand as a child would near the hearth of a fireplace, enchanted by the bright changing colors of the flames, but who is fearful to touch, lest he be seared… Frankly, I do not feel that I am worthy of her.’ Such was his humility!”²

Gibran and May — a love story conducted entirely through letters

The association between the two friends nearly came to an end with the United States’ entry into the Great War: “Soon after, we entered the First World War, and parted company, except for two or three occasional meetings after that war ended, and then I was neck-deep in the more lucrative industrial field.”³ As for Nahas, the little additional information available about him is that he married a woman named Marian Davenporte (1906–1958) and that, two years before the aforementioned volume, he had published a book titled “Musing Through Life.”⁴ Further precious details on him can be gleaned from the words with which he himself concludes his account of Gibran:

“Seventy-Eight and Still Musing” by Joseph Nahas (Exposition Press, 1974)

“Because writing in those days was synonymous with hunger, I took shelter under the canopy of industry, remaining there for fifty-eight years, until retirement. After retirement, I continued my association with the National Rehabilitation Association of which I am an active life member. Soon after I was nominated and elected an exhibiting member of the Southern Artists Association, the National Conference of Christians and Jews; the International Platform Association, a member of the Executive Board of the Poets’ Roundtable of Arkansas and a member of The Arkansas Authors Composers and Artists Society. During the year 1973 I was notified by The Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Directors that I have been nominated and elected a National member of that association — also that I have been nominated, and elected to be listed in The Personalities of the South, 1973 edition of The American Biographical Institute. I still write, but not as speedily as I did in my youthful days, and I do paint landscapes and seascapes, better than when I began (I think). My talks, or as some call them ‘lectures’ are given free to high school students, poets, and literary groups. ‘Gibran as I knew him’ is the subject most often requested. I still boast of growing the best, and largest in tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash in this neighborhood, as well as flowers of many varieties. I have one daughter, Majeedah, a graduate, registered nurse, three sons, Majeed, Mike, and Nicholas — all holding executive positions, and am blessed with twelve grandchildren — although at times I find it necessary to pause long enough to remember the name of each. And now, dear reader, should you think that these activities are not sufficient for a near octogenarian (who was warned by heart specialists in the fall of 1934 that he had but six months to live) then, I challenge you to pick up the pen, joining my many other pen-mates and to tell me so. […] I could not claim that any of my writing, painting, or gardening, mixed with business consultations from time to time, could be considered outstanding, but, since all come within the category of creative activity, my ego seems to be satisfied with the results, mediocre as they may be, and I consider such efforts to be a minimal rate of interest paid on my loan of extra lifetime.”⁵

Joseph Nahas is buried alongside his wife at Calvary Cemetery, Hot Springs, Garland County, Arkansas, USA.