Dedicating Flooding a Matchbox to her father ‘who bravely taught me how to live’, and for her husband and children ‘who taught me how to live’, Zara Al-Noah sets the poetry collection up for a sentimental read.
The complexity of Flooding a Matchbox makes it an endearing read with nostalgic and bittersweet moments, overall, Zara Al-Noah’s writing is engaging and heartfelt.
The contents of the book are delicately written expanding the reader's mind whether they can fully relate to the storytelling or not. The poise of love and loss, of yearning and comfort, make this poetry collection a memorable read.
Exploring the conceptualizations of topics of Zara Al-Noah’s life regarding her childhood and adulthood, she showcases an admirable yet devastating account through poetry.
The poetic language inspires affection almost to the point it’s like Zara Al-Noah is reading these poems to the reader. There’s an urgency to keep reading to know how the story unfolds.
The opening poem ‘Braced’ paves the way for what’s yet to come in Flooding a Matchbox. Zara Al-Noah expresses, “All I know, and ever will, is my name was chosen by my father, as my mother cried in relief.”
In ‘Quietly Awake’ Zara Al-Noah conveys, “There is always so much to say before an explosion,” creating a tear-jerking moment for the reader to stop and breathe in this poem with all its pain and glory.
The vivid imagery and lyrical tones describing how ‘it is hard to adopt a new language’, and how she had her dignity ‘strip-searched’ so her family had their ‘flag of identity wavering in gusts of uniform, puppet hands ransack our suitcases as they bleach my father’s heart’ make this book a well-versed poetry collection. Zara Al-Noah’s personal story of fleeing Iraq to the United Kingdom makes it clear that this story could be any of us.
Zara Al-Noah lives in the UK and is a medic in the NHS. She is happiest in wellies, exploring the countryside with her husband and two small children. Her mixed heritage includes Iraqi descent. This, alongside her extensive travels, is the basis of her passion for writing. Flooding A Matchbox is her first collection of poetry, published through Sunday Mornings at the River.
Words by Danielle Holian