Text Thresholds in Daftar Min Araq ‘A Notebook of Insomnia’ Diwan, by Abdulrahman Al-Atl

Abstract

This study investigates the semiotic signs of the textual thresholds in Daftar Min Araq ‘A Notebook of Insomnia’, collection of poems by the Saudi poet Abdulrahman Al-Atl. These thresholds represent procedural keys that help recipients access the depths of the text, decipher its codes, and fathom their implications, impact and interpretation of the content. I chose this Diwan to unravel the thresholds and their implications and impact on the poetic text in it. The study uses the semiotic approach, and is divided into three sections preceded by an introduction and followed by a conclusion. The sections address the thresholds of the title, cover, and dedication respectively. The study concludes that the title A Notebook of Insomnia came as an important threshold that links the outside of the texts with the inside content. The front and back covers, however, came as an aesthetic threshold that attract the recipients to read the content. The front and back sections of the cover express the content with its painting on the front cover. A poetic text and a photograph of the poet are placed on the back cover for publicity purposes. Finally, the dedication threshold was unique, addressing the poet’s family's role in helping him to overcome his crisis (insomnia).