Mahjar

[4][3] As worded by David Levinson and Melvin Ember, "the drive to sustain some Arab cultural identity among the immigrant communities in North America" was reinforced from the beginning when educated immigrants launched Arabic-language newspapers and literary societies in both the New York and Boston areas to encourage poetry and writing, with the aim of keeping alive and enriching the Arabic cultural heritage.

The Pen League (Arabic: الرابطة القلمية / ALA-LC: al-rābiṭah al-qalamīyah) was the first[9] Arabic-language literary society in North America, formed initially by Nasib Arida and Abd al-Masih Haddad[10] in 1915[11] or 1916,[12] and subsequently re-formed in 1920 by a larger group of Mahjari writers in New York led by Kahlil Gibran.

[16] As Naimy expressed in the by-laws he drew up for the group: The tendency to keep our language and literature within the narrow bounds of aping the ancients in form and substance is a most pernicious tendency; if left unopposed, it will soon lead to decay and disintegration... To imitate them is a deadly shame... We must be true to ourselves if we would be true to our ancestors.

[18]Members of the Pen League included: Nasib Arida, Rashid Ayyub, Wadi Bahout, William Catzeflis (or Katsiflis), Kahlil Gibran (Chairman), Abd al-Masih Haddad, Nadra Haddad, Elia Abu Madi, Mikhail Naimy (Secretary), and Ameen Rihani.

[22] The first Arabic-language literary circle in South America, Riwaq al-Ma'arri, was founded in 1900[23] by Sa'id Abu Hamza, who was also settled in São Paulo.