Nor Azian Hashim confides her inner thoughts in her first book, ‘Soliloquy: A Collection of Poems’. From her identity in ‘My Words’, belief in ‘Being Me’, motherhood in ‘As You Wed’, tragedy in ‘A Lingering Farewell’, raw vulnerability in ‘Loss’, recovery in ‘Moving On’ and travel in ‘Sri Lanka’, her life journey unfolds in powerful dramatic monologues. Her bittersweet feelings will definitely resonate with appreciative readers.
“The poems were inspired by the experiences that I had gone through in life. In general, I wanted to express the feelings and emotions associated with the incidents that happened to me. As such, the poems are truly personal, but human emotions felt when one suffers anger, loss through death, disappointments et. al. are universal,” said Nor Azian to Ipoh Echo. These poems are her thoughts that come to mind when she is alone and solitary. It’s like you are talking to yourself when no one’s listening – like a soliloquy.
Azian had it all – words, a sensitive mind and style. The 53-page book containing 40 free-verse poems abound in metaphor. My favourites being “into fiery sparks of opinion”, “walls of oblivion”, “withering parts of the tortured mind” and “cluttered clots of yes and no”. Plus, personifications such as “gossips piercing” “rumours dripping” “wrenches a lonely heart” and “nudges broken dreams” surreptitiously conveyed her thoughts and feelings.
The compilation is extremely absorbing, as she dovetails the simplicity and elegance in the art of language. Since the flow of her words is natural, readers can enjoy it effortlessly. For instance, these lines from “Such is Nature”: nature intervenes / when the mood is grey / with brilliant hues / to brighten the day.
“I started writing poems when I was in Form Six. So some of these poems were written between 1968 and the mid-70s. But some are lost because I didn’t have a computer to save them.
“There was a dormant period when I started working, got married and started a family. So the book comprises poems that I wrote then and, as recently as February this year, when I penned the last one in the book,” she added.
A delight for poetry fans, the book is priced at just RM20. Readers interested in getting a copy can email Azian directly at: azian56@gmail.com.
Mei Kuan
