This type specimen book features poems and essays by Gibran Khalil Gibran — a Lebanese-American poet, writer and philosopher who wrote in both English and Arabic in the early twentieth century. His writings are said infuse political and literary rebellion, as well as Sufi and Christian mysticism. Gibran also created visual art that harmonized well with his writings, inspired by the concept of faith and taboo.
Amiri felt like the best typeface to use with Gibran's work because just as Gibran revived Sufi mysticism in his poetry of the twentieth century, so too did this typeface revive Islamic calligraphic scripts for the twentieth century.
In English, Amiri is a transitional serif typeface. In Arabic, it is a classical Arabic typeface in the Naskh style. It was created as a digital revival of Amiria Press typeface, made by Cairo’s Bulaq Press in the 20th century. Amiri is unique for the balance it makes between elegant typography and the beauty of Naskh calligraphy.
