São Paulo – Since childhood, Lúcia Helena Galvão has found in literature a way to understand the world. The daughter of a humble family from Rio de Janeiro, she moved to Brasília at age 10 when her father, a banker, was transferred during the expansion of the new capital.
Amid the uncertainties of her childhood, two authors accompanied her from an early age. As she recalls, “I felt a strong connection with Khalil Gibran and Machado de Assis. These two have been with me since I was twelve.”
She never imagined that decades later, the Lebanese poet, writer, philosopher, and artist would become one of the pillars of her intellectual life. She discovered The Prophet, Gibran’s most famous book, by chance—an old, marked, and yellowed copy found at home.
Reading, which was not encouraged by her father, opened a new way for Galvão to understand the sacred. It was in Gibran that the Rio native found an intimate, deep, and free spirituality. “I always say that Gibran introduced me to God and Machado de Assis to man,” she summarizes, explaining the symbolic force that shaped her intellectual life.
Her calling for philosophy was only confirmed after a few years at university. She first enrolled in International Relations at the University of Brasília (UnB) at 17, believing her questions lay out in the world. Later, she encountered academic philosophy but did not feel connected to it.
The decisive change came at 23, when she discovered Nova Acrópole a school of philosophy in the classical tradition where, according to her, the reflections finally made sense for real life. She became a teacher and has never left the institution, where she has worked for 37 years.
Gibran went from reading to purpose
At Nova Acrópole, Gibran returned with force. When reciting excerpts of the poet at internal events, she noticed that many admired the beauty of the words but understood little of their symbolic meaning. This gave rise to the lectures that would become one of Galvão’s best-known works: a YouTube series explaining The Prophet, chapter by chapter.
“It’s essential, because when we only read, we think it’s just a play of beautiful words, but Gibran’s definition of work and religion is philosophical, very complete, and well crafted, and should be taken into account,” she says.
Her work expanded into other areas. Fascinated by the more than 600 letters exchanged between Gibran and Mary Elizabeth Haskell, Galvão devoted lectures and poems to this material, which she considers indispensable for anyone wishing to truly understand the author. “There he says what he says to no one else,” she says.
Her deep connection with the poet culminated in one of her most remarkable projects: the play The Prophet, written in about three months. The production aimed to combine original excerpts from the Lebanese writer with explanations that helped the audience grasp the message.
The lead role was played by Sami Bordokan, a musician of Lebanese origin, whom Galvão considers “simply perfect” to embody Al Mustafá. With songs composed especially for the production, the play toured cities across all regions of Brazil and received praise from figures such as Leandro Karnal.
The journey was interrupted by the actor’s sudden death, an event that deeply affected the team. Even so, Galvão believes the play should be revived. “The right person will appear,” she says, confident that the project still has a purpose.
At 61, living in Brasília and established as one of Brazil’s leading philosophy educators, Galvão continues to expand the reach of the poet she discovered in her childhood. For her, Gibran remains a bridge between the human and the divine, and her mission is to keep that bridge accessible to new generations.
Read more:
A tribute to Khalil Gibran in São Paulo
Reportagem de Rebecca Vettore, em colaboração com a ANBA
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
