ذا كتاب عن الرمز والترميز في الثقافة الدارجة و" الراقية"، وفي الأدب؛ شعره ونثره، في النصوص اللغويّة والبصريّة. يتأسس الكتاب على مهاد عن الرمز والترميز، ولغات التواصل البشري غير اللفظي، والكلام بغير كلام، ويشتمل فصولًا يتناول كلٌّ منها رمزًا بالمناقشة؛ من القمر إلى الكهف، والباب، والبحر، إلى العين واللون الأسود، وغير ذلك من رموز، ويستعرض بعض تجليات ذلك الرمز في الثقافة والأدب، في الشرق والغرب. ثم يتناول نصًّا أدبيًّا يظهر فيه الرمز بجلاء، ويؤدي دورًا مهمًّا في إنتاج دلالة النّص. يشمل الكتاب كذلك نصوصًا متضمنّة تشير إلى بعض ما فيه من مفاهيم وأفكار وموضوعات. من غايات هذه النصوص الصغرى الاستطرادُ، ودفعُ الملالة والسأم، وفتح آفاق تحليل جديدة. وفي الكتاب عبارات وجُمَل ونصوص من لهجات عربيّة - خصوصا لغة أهل مصر- ترد في الكتاب على هيئتها، لا باللغة العربية الفصحى؛ ليبقى زخمها الثقافي بلا نقصان. ( إلّا رمزًا) كتاب يومئ ويشير، لكنّه لا يحيط. يحتفي بالرمز والترميز، وبالإنسان؛ مدار الترميز، وبالنّصوص الأدبية والثقافيّة؛ تلك الحقول التي تنمو فيها الرموز وتثمر
Was it still possible to add anything about Al-Mutanabbi, who filled the world and preoccupied the people, throughout these centuries that extended from his birth until now?!.. And did there remain a side of him that had not been studied, examined, and examined in more than one way, nor was it subject to discussion and debate among the fans of this great poet? And between his critics and haters?!.. Al-Mutanabbi is a unique figure in our literary heritage. His lovers, readers, and memorizers of his poetry are more numerous than those who can be counted, and it is too dangerous to clash with them without prior preparation and readiness. They have extensive knowledge of his poetry and many of the stages and details of his life. Their zeal in defending or attacking it is immeasurable. Therefore, the prior image is more binding. The imagined picture of him that they drew for him is too attached to the imagination to be discussed. Its relationship with national identity is more rooted and dangerous. This is what makes attacking him, for many, an attack on one of the nation’s “values and symbols.” But I am writing about Al-Mutanabbi after I spent two full years reading him, analyzing his poetry, and studying the details of his life in order to write a television series about him. Dramatic writing requires its author to penetrate as much as he can into the souls of his heroes in order to understand them, to imagine them in the situations in which humans might be, and to draw their reactions, with dramatic logic, as human reactions might be. All of this is within the framework of documented historical information.