Anam Tariq’s debut poetry book ‘A Leaf Upon a Book’ is a collection of 25 poems with diverse themes of nature, childhood, memories, loss, love, social issues and abstract ideas. Each poem in this collection takes you on a journey of self-discovery, evoking thoughts and emotions that span from nostalgia to sagacious contemplation.

‘A Leaf Upon a Book’ is an apt title for the collection as it interconnects nature, human emotions, and the world around us. The attractive front cover grabs the attention of the readers at the first glance.

The book opens with the poem ‘Childhood’ which describes the desires of a child and gradually explores themes of adulthood, obsessions, yearnings, nature, surroundings, loss, and love. Among these diverse themes, Anam includes ‘Muhammad (P.B.U.H): An Ode’, a tribute to Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H). In another poem, she praises Imam Hussain, describing him as a ‘mountain of forbearance’.

Inspired by great poets like T.S. Eliot, John Keats, William Wordsworth, Emily Dickinson, and others, Anam Tariq has developed her own distinctive style of poetry. Her work offers readers a taste of the literary elegance and depth characteristic of these renowned poets. Anam exhibits mastery in playing with words, as evident in her poems which are richly adorned with figures of speech.

The poems in this collection are full of vivid imagery, metaphors and personification. An example of this is found in the poem ‘Trod the Unwonted Way’:

“Without the woods, upon the lea
she felt a touch,
zephyr’s hand dulcified
her face.”
Here, she personifies zephyr (wind) by mentioning that she felt a touch of its hands that calmed her face.

In the following lines, she beautifully describes clouds as white cotton candies:

“White cotton candies hung from the sky
mantling the place, her and nature’s ally.”

In the poem ‘A Melody about a Malady’, she refers to corruption as a malady (illness). She writes:

“A spreading malady infecting
the ones in power, affecting
mostly the paupers.”

Although at some points, I felt a lack of smooth flow in certain poems, the rich vocabulary used by the poet exhibits her vast knowledge of words and semantics. The most intriguing aspect of this book is that it compiles the poem written over a span of 5 years and 8 months. This timeline reflects her journey and growth as a poet which is evident from the first poem to the last one.

The first poem ‘Childhood’ gives us a hint of innocence of a novice poet but as we read further, we witness her evolution into an experienced poet with a deep sense of literary elements. This evolution is evident in her latter poems, such as ‘An Actress’s Art’, ‘Misreading’, and ‘Now You Can’t Though You Long to’ which display her mature understanding of human nature and the impact of loss. The two micro poems in the collection based on nature act like a cherry on the cake and the illustrations throughout the book complement the poems.

Anam concludes her book beautifully with ‘Letters to Loved Ones’, dedicating each verse to her father, mother, Mariyam, And Taylor. Through this poem, she expresses her gratitude and acknowledges their influence in her life. Overall, the book is a delightful collection of rich poetry that gives a deep insight into the literature and should be explored by all poetry lovers.

Click here to buy ‘A Leaf Upon A Book’!

About The Author:

Anam Tariq writes from India. She holds an MA in English and is the author of the poetry collection A Leaf upon a Book (Leadstart, 2022). She writes and freelances as a copy editor for SeaGlass Literary. Her words exist in The Punch Magazine, nether Quarterly, Verse of Silence, EKL Review, The Chakkar, SeaGlass Literary, The Amazine, The Purposeful Mayonnaise, Lucky Jefferson, coalitionworks, and elsewhere. Other than writing, Anam can be found learning Arabic. Visit her at www.anamtariq.in or @anam.tariq_ (IG).