The Poetics of Imaginative Stimulation in the Contemporary Algerian Sufic Poetry A Reading of Nacer Istamboul’s Collection: The Realities of Infinity and Materialisation A Case Study of “Wise Bidpai Says”

Abstract

The question of imaginative stimulation is one of the prominent questions in the poetic process. That is why it has always, in the olden times and new, attracted the attention of rhetoricians, critics, philosophers and Sufis alike. Moreover, if this shows anything, it shows that the internal psychological stimulus in question, which moves the recipient and influences him, has always been there and has always been a question of interest and concern. And as this question is an age-old one, we wanted, in this paper, to shed light on imaginative stimulation in the Sufi poetic discourse, through some poetic samples—from the poetic works of the Algerian poet Istamboul Nacer—that show the main, general features of this stimulation and its role in setting the poetics of the text in motion. The study tracks the history of imaginative stimulation and of its role in the creation of poetic discourse and adopts a descriptive, analytical method to unveil the deep-set beauty that lies behind this stylistic deployment. Key divisions—each devoted to a major, central idea—have been set—in order for me to grasp the concept and get hold of its indications. These divisions are set as follows: the Concept of Imaginative Stimulation in Arabic History, the Nature of Imaginative Stimulation in Sufi Poetic Discourse, a Reading of Nacer Istamboul’s Collection: The Realities of Infinity and Materialisation, In a Dialogue with the Imaginative Threshold, and Imaginative Stimulation and the Creation of Meaning in “Wise Bidpai Says”. The study concludes thus that imaginative stimulation is the mainstay of poetic discourse and the secret of its beauty, the thing that distinguishes one text from another and gives privilege to one text over another, and this thing, this factor, is common to all literary genres.