New York City holds a very important place in the history of modern Arabic literature. It was here were a generation of young writers of the 'mahjar' (diaspora) started a literary movement that became the foundation for a wave of Arabic romanticism that spread across the Arab world. Writing in both Arabic and English and inspired by the meeting of East and West that they encountered in New York, a new generation of authors nurtured this new style. Works, inspired by the immigrant experience in the city, found an enthusiastic readership across the world and literary greats who are still celebrated today, such as Kahlil Gibran, Mikhail Naimeh, Amin Rihani and Afifa Karam began to form their new style.