Why Lebanese illustrator Zeina Abirached is bringing Khalil Gibran's work alive for a new generation

Graphic novelist speaks to The National on the sidelines of the Kerala Literature Festival

Zeina Abirached's most recent book is a graphic novel adaptation of Khalil Gibran's most famous work. Photo: Zeina Abirached

The packed hall at the Kerala Literature Festival (KLF), Asia’s largest literary gathering held on Kozhikode’s sun-kissed beaches in India, listens in rapt attention as graphic novelist and illustrator Zeina Abirached presents a captivating musical reading of her illustrated version of The Prophet by Khalil Gibran.

Collaborating with a musician and a poet, the one-hour performance blends art, poetry, and music, breathing life into Gibran’s beloved work that has been translated into over 100 languages.

“It’s an experiential performance and a nice way of reminding people about Gibran’s phenomenal work,” explains the Franco-Lebanese artist who has illustrated the graphic novel. “This show has been travelling across Europe. We’ve had performances in Paris, Marseilles, Cairo and now India, where it’s been very well-received."

Abirached feels that in an age of shortened attention spans, literary platforms such as literature festivals such as KLF play a catalytic role in helping artists connect directly with an audience and meet other scholars too.

“It’s my first visit to KLF and I’m delighted to see that the dynamic festival is pushing boundaries, bringing together Nobel prize winners, authors, publishers and poets from 15 countries. It’s a great forum to exchange ideas and celebrate the written word in Kozhikode, India’s first UNESCO City of Literature,” she shares.

Currently based in Oman with her husband and three-year-old daughter, Abirached’s oeuvre consists of eight published books, as well as illustrations and cartoons. Based on autobiographical narratives related to her childhood in war-torn Beirut, the works use a distinctive black and white artwork akin to the tones of Arabic calligraphy.

Her critically acclaimed book Le Piano Oriental has been translated into half a dozen languages. In 2018, the 44-year-old also co-authored a book with Goncourt Prize winner Mathias Enard titled Prendre Refuge where Enard wrote the text and she created the illustrations.

The artist’s works draw from a rich groundswell of childhood memories – growing up in war-torn Beirut and a close knit family comprising a brother and parents who were “the wind beneath my wings”.

“In fact it was my father who pushed me to go explore the world and publish my works in Paris when I was barely 23,” she gushes. “The exposure outside somber Lebanon opened my eyes to an exciting, new world. It was a thrilling adventure for a young me!”

After completing her studies at the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts in Beirut, the artist enrolled at the National School of Decorative Arts in Paris. She began writing comic books with a desire to tell her and her people’s story. “I grew up in a country roiled by war, where we didn’t come to terms with our past. Much of our history remains undocumented. We still don’t have an official version of the civil war. As a young woman I wanted to change that so I started recording and archiving life around me as I saw it.”

The Lebanese Civil War started in 1975, and being born in the middle of it in 1981 in the eastern part of Beirut divided by bricks and sandbags with snipers and shelling all around, the divisions were clear for Abirached – East Beirut for Christians, and West Beirut for Muslims.

“Since I never knew anything else besides the war, I thought it was normal to grow up and live like that. Only when the war ended in 1990 did I understand the abnormality of our situation,” she explains.

Despite the dissonance of war and suffering, however, the atmosphere at her home was always progressive and positive. “We were encouraged to study, read, travel, watch theater and follow our passions. I found inspiration in the ordinary – apartments, old photographs and TV recordings – all of which found their way into my works,” she adds.

Abirached also learnt to use humor as a tool to portray an atmosphere of positivity. Such as the solidarity between neighbors and the importance of laughter. “Humor saved us during those terrible times,” recalls Abirached.

In A Game for Swallows, the artist captures her inner conflict from a child’s perspective framed by a single night of bombing. Her short animated film, which she converted into a children’s book “Mouton”– literally “sheep”– refers to her curly hair. It’s a deeply personal book, but one that’s also universal, she explains.

Currently the artist is excited about writing her autobiography – the sequel to the earlier one A Game For Swallows published in 2012. Here she’s recapping her life’s experiences that have shaped her life and work across the cities of Beirut, Paris and Oman.

The book – which is about one’s identity – also dwells on the restrictive and regressive gender and societal norms that define life for Lebanese women. “What pains me most as a woman – and now as a mother – is that Lebanese women can’t pass on their heritage to their children. Imagine, giving birth to a child but having no control on their heritage! Since my husband is French, my daughter can only be French, not Lebanese!” she rues.

As a columnist-cartoonist for Paris’ Le 1 newspaper, Abirached also does theme-based cartoons. “My latest series is about women from all over the world who’ve fought for their rights. The theme resonates with me because I’m also a feminist although not a militant. I use satire because its an important tool for a graphic artist to convey serious messages without getting into trouble,” she laughs.

Interestingly, this cartoon series too is in black and white, not color, pretty much like all of the artist’s works as she believes that “the starkness of black and white empowers readers to interpret her works in their own way which is both liberating and democratic”.