Authorship in Sufi poetry

This article explores authorship in the Sufi rhyme of Egypt. How do we explain apparent paradoxes: attribution of novel poetry to an old saint, to more than individual person, or to a performer? The Sufi's world includes a close-knit spiritual-social network, spanning entities (both living and dead), across which true copy and inspiration flow. Poetic production (primarily the recombination of pre-fabricated units), offers as much in social performance as in "private" composition. Since the Sufi author is always network-connected, each poetic practice is always collaborative. reciprocally every Sufi ("poet," performer, or listener) acquires authorial attributes. The article metes the social network ...