‘Yesterday I Was the Moon’ – Poetic Excellence by Noor Unnahar
When you think of contemporary Pakistani poetry, Noor Unnahar’s name is bound to come up. With her journals, scribbles, and hand-drawn illustrations flooding Instagram and Tumblr feeds, she’s carved out her own space in the growing world of “Insta-poets.”
But her debut collection, Yesterday I Was the Moon, proves that Noor isn’t just writing for the internet; she’s writing for every version of us that has loved, lost, healed, and tried to piece ourselves back together again.
A Diary in Verse
The book reads less like a polished anthology and more like a personal diary cracked open. It is intimate, vulnerable, sometimes messy, but always real. Split into sections, Noor walks readers through heartbreak, self-acceptance, growth, and the delicate art of finding your identity. Her words feel like they’re whispered directly to you, raw and unfiltered, yet carrying the lyrical rhythm of traditional poetry.
Words + Visuals = Noor’s Signature Style
What makes this collection stand out is the pairing of poems with Noor’s own artwork, doodles, journal sketches, and handwritten fragments. The visuals don’t just decorate the pages; they feel like part of the poems themselves, adding a tactile, deeply personal layer. In an era where poetry often competes with aesthetics on social media, Noor fuses the two without losing authenticity.
Her gorgeous Instagram feed, paired with delicate words, will make you feel something when life feels a little too heavy and numb. This is one of her best works from her recent mellow, fruit-themed series.
Why It Resonates
Readers often describe Yesterday I Was the Moon as the kind of book you pick up when you’re hurting and find yourself seen in every line. Its repetition of themes, such as heartbreak, resilience, and self-discovery, might feel cyclical, but that’s also what healing is: circling the same wound until it finally closes.
That universality is Noor’s strength; you don’t just read her poems, you recognize yourself in them.
The Bigger Picture
Noor belongs to a new generation of South Asian poets who are redefining what poetry looks like. She’s not writing dense verses for literary gatekeepers, she’s writing for people scrolling through their phones at 2 a.m., searching for something that feels like them. And Yesterday I Was the Moon delivers exactly that: poetry that feels accessible yet profound, personal yet universal. Here’s some that always tug at our heart:
In short, Noor Unnahar’s debut isn’t just a book, it’s an experience. One that blends words and visuals into something that feels as much like art as it does literature. Whether you’re a poetry veteran or someone dipping their toes into the genre, Yesterday I Was the Moon is likely to linger with you, line after line, page after page.
