Vampire Squid: Poems from the deep sea

by Prema Arasu

98 pages, Paperback

Published January 6, 2026

Reviews

[Rosie · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love poetry! i love the ocean! i love academics!!

[Aksel Dadswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A linguistically delectable and diverse poetry collection, not just about the things that dwell in the deep see and the people who study them, but primarily about the lenses through which we see the world, the way we categorise things, the stories we tell and the myths we build, and how we deal with the unknown. The variety here surprised me and this wasn't quite the collection I expected. There's a lot of great commentary about academia and literature, and more dry humour than I anticipated, but it all just works so well to encapsulate the author's experience at the Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea research centre. Arasu has a beautiful command of language and an abyssal knowledge of literature and culture; the poems here are clever and funny and weird and sometimes dark, slimy, indescribable.

I loved the structure of the collection, too, which starts with sunlight at the surface, a familiar place for the reader - and then we're pulled further into the depths of the ocean. As we go, language and structure dissipates and decays before coming together in strange new structures, and the unfamiliarity of this reflects the literal journey of examining the organisms that thrive in darkness and crushing pressure (and I don't mean academics and writers).

There are a lot of experimental forms here, and some pieces that take the bones of other, older works, reforming them in the image of a blobfish or a vampire squid (or maybe more accurately, an anthropocentric perspective of such creatures). There was the odd piece that didn't quite gel for me, either in terms of rhythm or theme, but overall I loved these poems.

A haunting, witty collection of poetry that seeps into you and lingers, reshaping language and perception, and broadening our view of a world we know so little about.

[Tiffany Hastie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for some perspectives from deep sea creatures, but this collection is mostly about the scientists who study them and their disconnection and emotional distance from the animals they collect and dissect. And the author's observations of them during a research cycle. Well written but was hoping for more focus on deep sea creatures.

[birchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

for the first time ever, i want to swim out into the ocean as far as i dare and dunk my head under.

[EmG ReadsDaily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly original collection of poetry that is influenced by the deep sea and the three years the author was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre.

The book is cleverly crafted in sections - Sunlight, Twilight, Midnight, Abyss, Hades.
‘Things may get stranger as we go deeper, but, as Poe wrote there is no exquisite beauty without some strangeness.’

I really enjoyed the insights into the individuals who study the sea, our human connection to the mysterious depths of the ocean, well as the enigma that is the deep sea and its creatures.

Some of the most memorable titles include - WFB (Working From Beach); mass stranding; Ode on a Blobfish; The language of (deep sea) flowers; Anglerfish podcast; in the lab with the taxonomist and the marine biologist; To H.P. Lovecraft; things we found 10925m deep and/or at IKEA. I also really appreciate the notes at the end, with additional relevant information and insights into various poems throughout.

‘The accurate communication of new scientific information about the deep sea can only go so far in changing how we feel about it. The deep sea’s constructed unreliability is an aesthetic challenge; and as a researcher, I selected the research methodology best suited to contemplation of aesthetics: poetry.’

If you have an interest in the deep sea or ocean science, this is a very enjoyable collection of poetry.

Prema Arasu is writer and researcher based in Perth, Western Australia. Prema has published stories, poems, and scholarly articles on the deep sea, fantasy, weird fiction, and monsters.

[Taye Wickland · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun quick read. I’m not a big fan of poetry collections as a rule, so I think that influenced my review.
I quite liked the poems ‘To HP Lovecraft’, ‘whale fall’, ‘stargazer fish’, ‘on (fish) murder as one of the fine arts’, ‘was it scary’, ‘top surgery’ ‘new species’ and ‘anglerfish podcast’, but the rest were not really my cup of tea.

[Jerry]

review text for 4076

[J.L. Peridot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever and marvellous.

[Samantha (thebobtailbookclub) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven’t read poetry in a long time, but this collection reminded me how much I enjoy it! I love the way different poem will speak to different people, and how it helps you reflect on your own life.
I adore the way the author has used the deep sea as a way to reflect on the world and humanity, as well as the literary references throughout.