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Review by Zeiya Shay
Writing poetry is a delicate business. It requires keen observation, an almost
stethescopic working of your senses. The more interesting part is making an intelligent
use of these sensory and lived experiences. Anam Tariq’s debut collection of poems, A
Leaf upon a Book, takes a heavy advantage of such a collective experience. Tariq glides
through the tender age to the sidelines of youth, taking a turn towards the celebration of
faith, trotting through the scathing thin line of politics, arriving at the doorstep of
adulthood and then reminiscing a pain which, I suspect, she is not at the center of but
where her wonderment has led her to wander.
Anam Tariq has an M.A. in English and draws inspiration from a plethora of prominent poets including Keats, Wordsworth, Robert Browning, Matthew Arnold, and T.S. Eliot (and I must say, I heartily approve). This explains her neoclassical style of approaching her verses, the sentence structures, and the presentation of ideas. I find it an endearing quality as it replicates what reeled us into Romantic poetry (of the late 18th century) as young poets. Even as the literary world in the book progresses, the storytelling reflects its contemporary circumstances and language takes a more convenient shape. I wouldn’t mind if more emerging writers explored this style of writing. I hope Tariq's readers pick up on this long-lost way of words.
Out of the 25 poems, 'An Actresses’ Art', caught my eye in some special manner. Here, she captures the grief of an unreciprocated love in a heartbreaking dramatic monologue. The following excerpt is where it really hits home as to what the poem is about:
“Before the vow gleefully you consented
to it and so did I, from a cousin to my love
I embraced through and through.”
In the author’s note, Tariq writes that these poems are pieced together over a period of
five years and eight months and you could see her development as a poet since it is
numbered from her oldest to the latest work. I found this honesty raw and brave. In the
writing world, even with the confessional nature of poems, we try to mask our failures
and burn our work that does not live up to our evolved self. As I made my way through
Tariq's writing journey of five years and eight months, I could track the development as
honestly as she has stated it. This also works well with the structure of the book as it
goes through its own journey with the poet’s mind and writing tools.
A Leaf upon a Book is an impressive example of tenacity and perseverance in this era
where even such a thing as writing is on a content fast-track. The time Anam took to assemble her collection is a statement unheard of in recent years and, for that, I must
implore you to read her debut work.
Please find the details of the book below:
Publisher: Leadstart Publishers
Date of publication: 2022
Illustrations: Farah Ziauddin
Page count: 78
ISBN: 978-9355590114
***
For the love of art,
Zeiya Shay
Zeiya is a poet writing in free verse with works featured in The Gulmohar Quarterly and The Great Indian Anthology. She is also a vocalist dabbling in jazz and new age Celtic singing among other genres. Her debut song in collaboration with ANC is set to be released by August 2023. Watch out for it!
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