A Disbelief of Flesh holds a grief not just for the loved and lost, but one that comes with depth of identity, of culture, of faith.

Christodoulou’s affection for her Cypriot heritage is channelled through her grandmother and grandfather, through food and the walls of home, and through her mother, whom she embodies sometimes, and who becomes a worshipped figure. We learn here of a tension that exists where pain meets catharsis, making possible a transformative connection with the roots of the self. This debut is a lesson in nuanced and poignant song.

Maria-Sophia Christodoulou is a British born Cypriot working as an English Secondary School Teacher, Mental Health Advocate and Poet in London. She graduated from Goldsmiths with a BA and MA in English with Creative Writing, and Creative and Life Writing. She has since been published in Nascent by Out-Spoken Press, Away with Words by Toothgrinder Press and in Ink Sweat & Tears. Her work explores her dual-nationality within her identity and her search for acceptance within a feeling and state of ‘in-betweenness’.