The Saint of Witches

by Avra Margariti

In this dark poetry collection, witches escape stakes, wells, and other prisons with the help of their arcane saint. Girls dream of queer ghosts and carnivorous angels. Ghouls visit their lovers beyond the grave, while medical experiments seek a forever home. Bodies are dismantled and remade, despised and celebrated. Anti-heroines bare their blood-dripping teeth. In “The Saint of Witches”, there’s no telling who will sink, or swim.

Genres: Poetry, Horror, Witches

96 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 19, 2022

About the author

Avra Margariti is a queer author, Greek sea monster, and Pushcart-nominated poet with a fondness for the dark and the darling. Avra’s work haunts publications such as Vastarien, Asimov’s, Liminality, Arsenika, The Future Fire, Space and Time, Eye to the Telescope, and Glittership. “The Saint of Witches”, Avra’s debut collection of horror poetry, is forthcoming from Weasel Press. You can find Avra on twitter (@avramargariti).

Reviews

[destiny ♡ howling libraries]

Everything humans don’t know, they name
dark matter.
Everything they fear
vindictive god.
I’ve never been so hungry,
but let me tell you a secret.
To become a ghost,
you have to starve for it.

I read quite a bit of horror poetry, and I especially love horror poetry with feminist themes and queerness and witchcraft, so naturally, I was so excited to check out Avra Margariti's debut collection, The Saint of Witches.

There are some absolutely gorgeous poems in this collection, with my two favorites being the above-quoted 'On the Genesis of Ghosts', as well as 'The Thing About Stars'. There are pieces featuring queer love, the mistreatment witches and those mistaken as such have been forced to suffer throughout the years, and so much more.

There are also poems in this collection about the desire to remain childless, which isn't something that I can relate to in any way (as many of you know, I'm a mother and very happy to be one ♥), but I felt like I needed to point it out because I know many of my friends wish to remain childless and would love to see themselves represented in this collection!

Unfortunately, the book as a whole was a little bit of a rollercoaster for me. I tried breaking the collection up into a few short reading sessions here and there to avoid dwelling upon it too much, but there's not a solid feeling of continuity throughout the collection, so I wasn't able to devour it in one go (which is my preferred method of reading poetry collections). That's very much a "me"-specific issue as a poetry reader, and I'm certain it won't impede the experience of many others who read this book!

Overall, The Saint of Witches is a great debut poetry collection and I enjoyed my time spent with it. I recommend checking it out if you enjoy horror poetry, and I look forward to reading more from Avra in the future!

✨ Content warnings for: (from the author's own notes) violence, blood, mutilation, attempted or referenced execution (by drowning, hanging, burning), child and animal death (non-graphic), suicide, loss of autonomy/control, imprisonment

Thank you to the author for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.

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[Hailey Piper · Rating 5 out of 5]

A captivating dance of lush imagery and devilish concepts. Witchcraft, transformation, love, monsters, death, the stars, everything falls under Margariti's spell. A gorgeous poetry collection all around.

[Sara Tantlinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning and eloquent -- easily one of the strongest collections of dark poetry I've read in the past few years, and now one of my new favorite collections.

Avra Margariti carefully chooses each word for the poems within The Saint of Witches. No word is wasted, and the dedication to the craft displayed by Margariti makes sure every line creates a visual or other sensory experience that brings the poem to the next level (for example the many lines I highlighted!). I was fully immersed in each story that every poem conveyed. This is an impressive debut, but if you've followed Margariti's individually published poems at all, you won't be surprised at what a strong collection of tasty darkness this is. Highly recommend.

[Cassie Daley · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Freedom can inundate the shackled, / But we’ve always run with the wolves."

This is a stunning poetry collection, wow! Absolutely loved it from start to finish. It has this dark, ethereal quality that's pure magic - I couldn't get enough. I started this not expecting to finish all at once on the last day of National Poetry Month (the author isn't from here, but I am, so this counts & I stand by it to boost them & their fantastic writing haha!), but once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down.

"She knew that things had to die for other things to grow."

I'd read one or two of Avra's poems that have been published online when they've shared them on social media, and have always loved them, so I'm not surprised by how much I enjoyed this, but still: wow. So good!

[Stephanie]

A gorgeous collection of dark poetry. From drone to maiden, coven to alien and monstrous child, Margariti's verses weave spells of imagination. Favourites include Ruinous Beauty, Sugar and Spice, Milk and Blood Spiders and On the Genesis of Ghosts, although in truth all are equally good and I'll probably choose different ones tomorrow. An incantation of gems.

[Stephanie M. Wytovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first saw Margariti post about this a few months ago, and the title alone (hello? Witches!) immediately grabbed my interest, but when they told me it was a queer exploration of witchcraft, gender norms, and sexuality, well is it any surprise I devoured this book faster than my morning coffee? I don't think I could have asked for a more "me" collection to grace my shelves, and I was thrilled to talk to Margariti more about their process, inspirations, and themes some more, all of which you can read about below in our interview on my blog: http://stephaniewytovich.blogspot.com...

With that said, I definitely recommend picking up a copy of this book, especially if you love discourse about history, fairy tales, folklore, and gender. Margariti does a wonderfully haunting job exploring the intersection of the beautiful and the grotesque, and their themes focusing on the body, identity, death, and violence spoke directly to me on more than one occasion as they provided an interdisciplinary approach that sent me thinking about artwork, history, theology, thanatology and more.

Yeah, that's my long-winded and somewhat-academic way of saying you need to read this book.

It's magic, much like Margaritti themselves.

[Eugenia · Rating 5 out of 5]

(What are humans but an amalgamation of meat and electricity?)

This was a breathtakingly beautiful collection of poems. Avra's prose sings in every piece. It makes the darkness cut like a scalpel, sweet but deep under the skin.

Some of my favorite poems included monsters, or what is considered a monster in the world, looking for humans to connect in their own way like The Little Medical Experiment Who Ran Away <3 or Milk. Terrifying and yet, heartbreaking.

If you want to feel all the feels (including very scary ones), if you want prose you'll be thinking about for a long time after, look no further.

[Stephanie Parent · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so impressed by the writing in this book on every level--from the wide scope of situations explored in the poems, and the creativity on a conceptual level; to the imagery and metaphors; down to the word choice and rhythm. Everything came together to explore monstrosity and magic through the lens of horror, fairy tale, art, and myth. There were so many interesting choices taken in these poems, like one that personified a mountain as a woman, and another that re-imagined Ophelia and the Lady of Shallot. I really liked the way the poet addressed beauty and aging, and I especially identified with poems that touched on self-harm/self-mutilation. I also loved the poems that referenced films and Hollywood starlets. And I appreciated that even though the book was dark, there were moments of lightness and playfulness, like "Pity-Party Fairy."

[Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible collection. First, on the poetry itself. The poetry is delightfully descriptive, dripping with details and exceptional scene-painting. The world of this poetry is rich and lived in; blood pumps and is spilled in equal measures. Things eat and are eaten. There is life and there is death.

As a collection too, it excels-- traversing a breadth of witches in both popular media and mythology. Despite the breadth though, it still feels as a whole. The atmosphere is perfectly on-tone, like a full-mooned Halloween throughout. More than anything, I think this collection accomplishes the incredible task of deftly illustrating the contingent, complex nature of power. It elevates and emphasizes the ways in which one can simultaneously be empowered and vulnerable and conscientiously plays in that space.

Some of my favourite poems from the collection in order of their appearance in the collection:

In the Ever-night
When They Come Back
Devour Me
Harpy
When I Wash my Clothes in the River
I Would Know You Anywhere

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

These poems are so evocative, and the language is so powerful. There are so many lines I love, like "...Cursed creatures like me Burn under such pure light" that capture what outsiders feel on the inside.

"Will you quench my thirst, or will you push me under?" The entire collection is suffused with a mood of sombre and dark elegance.

Avra's work is absolutely stunning. I can't stop raving about it, and encourage everyone to pick up this horror poetry now. Adding Avra to my pantheon of dark poetry deities.

[Myna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous, lyrical language.

[Justin Moritz · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent genre poetry collection that blends the grotesque, the gothic, and the occult

[Rain · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible collection of haunting but empowered poems. Margariti’s poems are decadent but deliberate, inviting you in as long as you are the sort to behave. If not, the outcome will be on you. Survival, kinship with nature, and a better understanding of what freedom is and is not, can be your rewards.

Are you, perchance, a god like me?

[October · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a haunting and beautiful collection of poems. Even after finishing the book, I find myself going back and rereading certain ones over and over. This was a true gem to find.

[Heather Ventura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haunting, gorgeous, breathtaking. Not one wasted word. I stretched this book out as long as I could, only allowing myself one poem every now and then to give myself time to savor and reflect. There’s isn’t one poem I would lift out of this collection - they are all a necessary fit. Horror poetry at its finest.

[Marisca Pichette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every poem is a dark little journey 🖤

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Favorites: "On the Genesis of Ghosts," "Devour Me."

[Keily Blair · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not personally much of a poet, but I thoroughly enjoyed this collection. Margariti expertly weaves spellbinding words and phrases to stun readers with their horrifying beauty. Each poem told a story, and each story ranged from gruesome to powerful to fantastic to some combination of the three. A few poems ventured into science fiction, which surprised but delighted me nonetheless. Margariti's mastery of visceral imagery leaves nothing to be desired.

I have read plenty of poetry in the past year, but Margariti’s poems and stories have repeatedly stood out to me as some of the best around. I have a feeling this will be one of my favorite poetry collections for many years to come.

[Jennifer Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horror poetry is an in-between territory balanced between conventions of the horror genre and powerful poetry. In this collection, I can't say that the balance is always spot-on--there are times when it feels like shock-tacular horror wins out over poetic instincts, and times when the sound of poetry moves away from horror--but there are so many poems here which DO exceed the expectations of that balance, it ends up being a more than worthwhile read.

My favorite poems here are the longer ones which move more into the realm of story vs siding more with the abstract. Some of my favorites: "The Thing About Stars", "Until You Reach Me", "A Flame, Snuffed", "The Toddler's Guide to Reincarnation", and "Mazzeratura or, The Penalty of the Sack"

Recommended for horror readers, with the warning only that much of this little book is incredibly dark, and packs a punch that I'm not so sure is often found in horror poetry.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and horrific poetry like a handful of dark, sparkling gems. Taken together (and it really all does work well as a collection), it tells stories of a world - fantastical or our own - where women fight against systems and succeed or drown trying, with magical elements both good and bad.

Wonderfully queer and feminist, with gorgeous writing in the line-by-line.

[Patrick Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A stunning collection of witchy, weird poems. For those interested in horror and dark poetry, you can’t go wrong checking out Agra’s work.

[Mindy Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

poetry about all manner of monsters, girls, love, death, violence, devouring, metamorphosis, and various other torments and horrors. 3/5.

[H.V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of luminous poems