“For light exists only with darkness, and darkness can’t be without light.”
This is the path to light and darkness. Only you can choose where it leads you. And remember; light and darkness exist together. One can’t be without the other. Two different things, eternally tied together, forever destined to coexist.
Despoina Kemeridou is a multi-genre author, poet, and graphic designer. She started writing in 2009 and immediately knew this was what she wanted to do for the rest of her life.
Kemeridou was born in 1996 in Thessaloniki, Greece. She studied Midwifery at the International University of Greece. Alongside writing, Kemeridou likes reading, photography, sketching, and painting.
She started self-publishing in 2018 and has since self-published three books. Currently, she is working on a dark fantasy retelling of a mixture between the myth of Hades and Persephone and the Beauty and the Beast fairytale.
I've always been impressed with those who can write poetry. Such an emotional vehicle. I'm not one who is qualified to judge, but the stars I've rated are for my own enjoyment while reading. The title of this is very apt, lots of darkness, but balanced with lots of light. Glad to have experienced.
I don't pick up poetry often, and when I do, I often get bored or don't enjoy the results. With "Of Darkness and Light" I connected to the writer on many of the poems. Yes, it is dark and rightfully comes with a trigger warning for theme, but it also has a reminder that there is light and live. We have the capacity for both. I thoroughly enjoyed it and read through in an afternoon.
I am speechless at how amazing this book was. Recently I have read book of poems that disappointed me but this one right from the start just gripped me and held me tight until the end!
The poems just flew in front of my eyes, so much so that I wasn’t reading them anymore I was living them, I was reliving my memories with those words, I related to many of those poems and loved all of them.
This book holds such a force inside, so much power. It’s truly using words as a weapon, passing a message, no matter how strong it might be.
As said in the description, this poetry collection outlines just how true it is that light cannot exist without dark. In each poem, the reader can see both, but the thing I love most is how this theme can be seen in the book overall.
When reading from start to finish, it really feels like beginning very low and gradually getting into a better headspace. Knowing that you're in a good place couldn't have been possible if you hadn't first known places of despair. While the poems can be enjoyed separate to their own, that continuity that ties all the poems together to where it can be interpreted as a single journey definitely drives the message home and makes the collection even more memorable. That being said, bits of dark are even seen in the lighter poems, which keeps with the theme of their coexistence.
This poetry is relatable and everything I expected from the author, whose other stories I've greatly enjoyed. When I was reading, it felt like I was actually the person being written about. Because of that, I also felt that I was climbing out of the dark and into the light along with the progression of the collection so it was heartfelt and inspiring as well.
I picked this up as part of a personal plan to read through all of her work, starting with the newest and working backward. You can absolutely see how much she’s grown as a writer over time... but even in this earlier collection, the emotional weight and clarity are undeniable.
One that really stayed with me was “Weight of the World.” I’ve felt like Atlas more often than I ever say out loud—but reading that piece made me feel seen in a way I didn’t expect. Like someone had put language to something I’ve just carried.
There’s something powerful about watching a writer’s voice develop in reverse, and this one proves that even her earlier work had a sharp, honest core that hits where it matters.
Despoina has a way of writing. I’ve read her previous book, Mark of A Demon and I was curious to check out her latest read. I love that her books are short and quick reads. These poems are dark and they touch your soul. I also appreciated the trigger warning. A writer I highly recommend. The cover is beautiful as well!
I’m not an expert on poetry but I know enough to say it is well written and that it actually bring to life true topics that go on in peoples’ lives in an artful way. I highly recommend this book to poetry lovers.
A gorgeously written collection of poetry that tugs the reader into a captivating and beautiful dance between darkness and light. This is an intense, raw, and poignant collection of poems. Highly recommended.
Dark and powerfully soul touching poetry that pulls readers in and out of love. Despoina let's her light shine through the pages of making this one of my favorite poetry books of the year.
There’s no middle ground with poetry for me. Either I love it (5 stars), it’s *shrugs shoulders* for 3 stars, or a didn’t like it at all for 1. And this, for sure, is a 5-star poetry read for me.
Going into this, as the poet here says, it’s important to remember that light can’t exist without darkness. This is indeed a dark poetry collection, and there’s pain and certain hopelessness here, but inside it all, there’s that glimmer of light, that something that’ll lead us out of the darkness.
This theme is here in all the poems, in some way. Many times, it doesn’t matter with collections in which order you read the poems, but here I recommend going from start to finish. The poems at the start are darker than at the beginning, although they are all still dark through this journey, the ones toward the end have a certain lightness already. It’s like a journey from darkness and pain toward… not a pain-free existence, because nobody has that, but… something better, still, mentally. (Incidentally, the poems I highlighted as my favorites are toward those end ones)
Not merely a book - A Beacon of Hope in The Darkest Moments
"Of Darkness and Light" by Despoina Kemeridou is a true gem. Her poems transform darkness and despair into light and hope, gently touching our wounds and sorrows. It's like she's reminding us we're not alone in our healing journey.
One standout poem is "Robotic Heart." It echoes the sentiment of resilience and unwavering spirit. Kemeridou, with her melodic pen, keeps soothing and challenging our hearts and minds.
Despoina Kemeridou consistently paints smiles on our faces and provides solace through her poignant verses. She reminds us of the importance of embracing our scars and pain, indirectly conveying that we shouldn’t pretend they don’t exist. This book is a testament to her talent and a beacon of hope for all who read it.
This an excellent collection of poems that are not all dark. They are all beautiful and powerful. Some were written in a dark place, and others in a lighter place, hence the perfectly named title! This collection will bring you into the mind frame of a person flirting with suicide, all the way to recovery and peace. A powerful way to know what true loss feels like. I tried to pick a favorite, and ended up with seven: Oath of Love, Dying Heart, Painting Smiles, Queen of Doom, Sweet Revenge, Another Life Another Chance, Lullaby of Hope. Highly recommend!
I love the way the author outlines the concepts of darkness and light through poetic verses. It is very relatable, raw, and emotional. Bravo Despoina Kemeridou and congratulations on this fabulous collection!
The poems in this collection were accessible and beautifully written. They deal with the darkness we run into in our souls, but most of them also express some sort of hope or promise of light.
I'll definitely be going back to read some of them a few more times. A couple really hit me.
This book is filled with poems that illustrate the many aspects of love and loss. The authors' flow and meter are consistent throughout the poems, making for a quick read. The poems pull from light and dark, making for a contrast in emotions.
Of Darkness and Light is a beautiful, heart wrenching poetry collection that anyone can enjoy and relate to.
Barring a deep part of her soul, I could feel Kemeridou’s emotions seeping through each one of these poems. Even though it was labeled as a book of dark poetry, I found hope interwoven throughout them, especially the poems toward the end, leaving the reader with an air of optimism even among the sadness of the earlier pieces.
The only reason I docked half a star is because the formatting of the ebook was a bit wonky for me. There were a lot of random blank pages between some poems and I struggled to read the sideways titles.
But overall I throughly enjoyed this collection and I highly recommend it to any fans of poetry!
A quick disclaimer before I get into the meat of the video: firstly, this really is dark, not just, or not solely through imagery, but also through themes. Despoina touches upon depression, death, including the self-inflicted variety, bodily harm, abuse, and so on, this is very much a book to be read at one’s own discretion. While I might find it interesting, the subject matter prevents me from recommending it to everyone. Secondly, poetry isn’t really my thing, I’m not particularly versed or adept at interpreting or reading poetry, so it’s possible I’ve still… missed certain nuances of what makes this collection or individual elements from this collection stand out or be in any way meaningful. This is actually the first time I read something twice before doing a review on it, I wanted to make sure I did it right.
Disclaimer aside, let’s get started. Two things I want to start with: the cover is gorgeous, a pattern of stars snaking its way over a matte black background. It’s eye-catching and very emblematic of the actual content, of how external darkness seeps into various facets of everyday life. Also, among the credits is one for pagination. I’m not sure if this word actually exists, but I assume it means page layout, i.e. the way phrases are arranged on the page is deliberate, any page break, including one that separates stanzas, is meant to be there. The most effective use of this is in Queen of Doom. The last stanza, entirely in Latin, is on a different page, acting almost as a climax for the whole piece. Queen of Doom in general is actually very emblematic of the collection. The first stanza is a triumphant description of the queen, how beloved and splendid she is. The next stanzas describe how her relation to her king has failed, and now she has to draw his attention. The Latin stanza acts as her final lament, her plea to be loved.
A lot of her poems, particularly the earliest, rely on this reversal for their effect, you will find her describing a beautiful image of the sea at night, for instance, and then how she imagines drowning in it would be like. While initially shocking, upon re-reading, you realise her intentions were more complex than shock. What are these intentions? I think the collection can summarily be divided into four parts.
The first one contains the most of these reversals, and describes the general anguish and sorrow of being disconnected from those around you. The second one describes one connection loss in particular, from her beloved. Whether through death or diverging maturities, the end result is still the same, and explored through a wide variety of heart-wrenching parallels. The third part has indignation as its main driver, indignation at a world seeking to alienate and sow division amongst itself. The stand-out poem of this part, and arguably the collection as a whole, is Circus Monster. The poem is told from the perspective of the titular figure, mocked by others they are incapable of perceiving, but they realise their situation is caused by the ringmasters “hiding behind huge curtains.” A great commentary on social media, if I may say so myself. The fourth and final part is self-appeasement, summarising the thematic conclusions of the upheaval the other parts have continuously described, and where the lyrical self learns to find and accept solace, wherever it may be.
There aren’t clear divides between the parts, and I think the collection is better off for it, it reflects the influences that drive us to our own conclusions much better that way. What remains somewhat consistent, however, is the way the imagery she describes escalates, from personal sorrow, to interpersonal anguish, all the way to apocalyptic destruction. It is, in that facet at least, quite satisfying.
Overall, I leave this collection with mixed impressions. I appreciate Despoina’s emotional depth and visual variety, but the bag of tricks at her disposal is only so deep, and what she pulls out has limited staying power.
🌝BOOK REVIEW / “Of Darkness and Light”/ Despoina Kemeridou🌚 ___ 🌚Genre: A dark poetry collection Pages: 120 Language: English Release date: 2020🌝
🌚Reading this book was like walking through a dark, dense forest with one firefly in your palms. This tiny and fragile creature is supposed to lead you to the light if you carry it carefully.
🌝The Plot: A glorious collection of poems that penetrate the deepest and the most hidden shelves of a soul. Every poem touches upon tough periods that everyone has probably faced once: lost dreams, loneliness, playing hide and seek with yourself, losing you in yourself, nervous breakdown, etc.
🌚The Writing Style: This author has her unique writing style that I really enjoy. I read her two previous novellas, “Fated to Meet You” and “Mark of a Demon”, and loved them so much. That’s why I was curious about the dark poetry collection. I wasn’t disappointed; moreover, I enjoyed how the writer managed to turn all the sacred musings, sadness, and inner tortures and sufferings into a literary piece of art.
🌝My Favorite Quote: “Put my pieces back together. Make me whole again. So I can be me forever, and the pain will end.”
🌚Would I read other books by this author: Absolutely yes!
“Shattered” A beautiful mind, damaged and kind. All from the past, should stay behind. Broken pieces, a test of time. I’ll put together without a lie.
“Crave of dreams” Oh, cave of wonders, What can you do? I ask for honor, For peace, for truth. I want to dream. I want To hope, a great tomorrow Will come by dawn. In colorful Meadows, I want to play, lay on Flowers, wind in my hair.
“Midnights dance” Under the full moon’s bright light, they danced, giving in to their feelings. They prayed and prayed for that moment to last forever. Just a bit more… until our wings won’t fly anymore. One more moment more.
“Another life, another chance” Don’t cry for me. You’ll find me on the darkest winter night, when all autumn leaves have fallen. On the coldest summer day, when all colors have faded from flowers of spring. I will be there. There , for you. Forever, with you. When all is gone and the world is ours.
This collection of poetry does have a dark theme mentioning suicidal thoughts and idealisation so trigger warning here please do not read if it will upset you, take care.
This collection of poems were sadly beautifully relatable as someone who has struggled with depression for years and dealt with suicidal thoughts at times and losing someone very close to me, these poems really resonated with me.
The poem Painting smiles, was easily my favourite about overcoming the dark times together if possible before it overwhelms you and drastic action from the pain is taken. The book was dark but through the darkness can come light as perfectly portrayed here in this collection of poems.
Of Darkness and Light is a collection of short form poetry. The poems range from half a page to a page and a half in length. The word choice is simple but rolled of the tongue, making is a great choice for new fans of poetry as well as the seasoned reader.
The subject mater is like a cry in to the darkness, a voice that searches for light. I often wished for a poem to dig deeper and I felt that the author could have extended a few of the pieces to achieve this.
My favorit poem from this collection was "Never Enough". It's only two stanzas long but I felt the last few lines packed a punch.
Of Darkness and Light is a beautiful collection of short poems, each of which captures a moment or emotion that will resonate with many people including me. It is true that we cannot have light without darkness and this collection embraces both in a way that feels raw and honest and above all else powerful.
I enjoyed this poetry. As someone who often writes from a place of darkness, I found solace in some of these poems. Would recommend, but take the time to enjoy each poem before going tot the next.
A powerful collection of poetry with themes that encapsulate sorrow, regret, lost love, and hope - both of a futile kind and the more concrete and positive.
Though these poems are dark, they are a pleasure to read. They take deep emotional themes and twist the pain they often express into a thing of beauty.