
The Deep Blue of Neptune
Terry Belew(Author)
Kent State University Press
Published on 1. September 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
74 pages
978-1-60635-498-8 (ISBN)
Description
Winner of the 2024 Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize
The Deep Blue of Neptune is a striking, meditative collection of poems by Terry Belew, which reminds readers of the necessity of empathy in the midst of uncertain and unsettling times. Set against a rural backdrop, Belew's poems reside in the everyday--driving on gravel backroads, roaming the aisles of Walmart, and doomscrolling on a smart phone--to highlight the contradictory qualities of existence.
Belew utilizes a variety of forms, familiar and invented, including free verse, sonnets, sestinas, and "wish lists," to explore his speakers' inner lives. Often haunted by violence, from car crashes to gunshots, these poems are a reflection of how people must navigate the bleak landscape of the digital age. The Deep Blue of Neptune is a masterfully crafted debut, blending lyricism with wry humor to address the complexities of our relationships with other people, with nature, and with ourselves.
The Deep Blue of Neptune is a striking, meditative collection of poems by Terry Belew, which reminds readers of the necessity of empathy in the midst of uncertain and unsettling times. Set against a rural backdrop, Belew's poems reside in the everyday--driving on gravel backroads, roaming the aisles of Walmart, and doomscrolling on a smart phone--to highlight the contradictory qualities of existence.
Belew utilizes a variety of forms, familiar and invented, including free verse, sonnets, sestinas, and "wish lists," to explore his speakers' inner lives. Often haunted by violence, from car crashes to gunshots, these poems are a reflection of how people must navigate the bleak landscape of the digital age. The Deep Blue of Neptune is a masterfully crafted debut, blending lyricism with wry humor to address the complexities of our relationships with other people, with nature, and with ourselves.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Kent, OH
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 200 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 6 mm
Weight
109 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-60635-498-8 (9781606354988)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Terry Belew
The Deep Blue of Neptune
E-Book
09/2025
The Kent State University Press
€15.49
Available for download
Persons
Terry Belew lives in rural Missouri with his wife and two sons. He earned an MFA from the University of Nebraska-Omaha and an MA from Missouri State University. His work has appeared in recent issues of Southern Humanities Review, Meridian, Tar River Poetry, The Pinch, and Storm Cellar, among many others.