Carcanet Press - Fourth and Walnut

Description
Author
Awards
Reviews

Equal parts commonplace book, instruction manual and cheerful vandalism, Fourth & Walnut is absurdly joyful, gathering together words from a wide range of favourite writers and artists, erasing some and fooling with others as variations on themes and tunes are tried out.

‘Advice to a Young Poet’ opens happily with the news that Rilke can be ignored. ‘Equinox in a Box’ records a day spent gazing upwards in a James Turrell skyspace while the mind remembers, dreams and wanders out of the box.

Interludes on love and death deviate into a sequence promising an essay on reading and unpredictability, which is in turn distracted by counting snowdrops, shellacking cardboard boxes and the urge to take flight.

The book ends with an erasure of an Edwardian book for children on the ‘art of seeing’, revealing alternative vistas by looking within, and teasing, the language.

Beyond the whimsy, what the book seeks are the precise coordinates of heaven which Thomas Merton found in Louisville, on the corner of Fourth and Walnut. The search is, we learn, a kaleidoscopic and playful process of collage, digression and invention. Or, as Over puts it –

‘You have to look away

and then back a few minutes later
to notice the colour changes.’

Jeremy Over was born in Leeds in 1961. He now lives on a hill near Llanidloes in the middle of Wales. His poetry was first published in New Poetries II in 1999 and he has had three subsequent collections with Carcanet: A Little Bit of Bread and No Cheese (2001), Deceiving ... read more

Awards won by Jeremy Over Short-listed, 2020 The Wales Poetry Book of the Year (Fur Coats in Tahiti)

'What I love about Jeremy Over's amazing writing is that everything, and I mean everything, seems to be available for him to work with and shape into memorable, challenging, and ultimately very human narratives, abstractions, meetings and diversions. Nobody else writes like him.'
Ian McMillan

'A beautifully orchestrated hot-stepping set of riffs between the poet and the world ... Jeremy Over's Fourth and Walnut makes you want to stand up and read portions out to passersby, just for the sheer joy of what he brings to the speaking mind.'
Sampurna Chattarji
'Fourth and Walnut takes in minimalism, citation, erasure, drawing, linguistics and philosophy to create a book of gentle profundity and quiet magic. Under its spell, the question isn't why monk and mystic Thomas Merton and TV weatherman Tomasz Schafernaker appear in the same poem, but why they haven't before. Over discusses the rhinoceros as a symbol of surprise. After reading his poems, it would take more than a rhinoceros to surprise me, although I would be worried about the linoleum.'
Tom Jenks
Praise for Jeremy Over 'A restless experimenter and game-player with language'
Ian McMillan, The Reader 'It is this nothing offered that makes Fur Coats in Tahiti such a rewarding read, because it leads to destinations unknown, a restless, constantly moving walk after not knowledge, but illumination, the unexpected relationship between word and word that opens a window to the world. It is, I realise as I write, a kind of Dada Zen book; what more can I say?'
Billy Mills
'They also seem magical. Like magic words, or Latin mass: more powerful for all its uncertainty.'
Joe Darlington, Manchester Review of Books
'Joyous panoplies of alphabets warble, blossom and assemble into word songs made simultaneously stately and playful here in Fur Coats in Tahiti. Folklore and plainsong play with Stein and then Whitman comes over, inviting so many alphabetic others to join in: Wordsworth via Jandl via Atkins via Ono via You makes something entirely new! Over's marvelous word worlds mesh and refresh all our delights in loving thinking musics of sound, sense and nonce. Slip on this luxurious garment of a book where the language weather is always perfect.'
Lee Ann Brown 'In Fur Coats in Tahiti, Jeremy Over exuberantly defies expectations. These poems rollick as they explore relationships between sound and sense, interweave the surreal and the mundane, and conduct whimsical, unpredictable journeys. The work teems with intelligence and delight.'
Carrie Etter
'I am in love with the new collection by Jeremy Over, building as it does on the work of his first two books with so much style and grace. The poems are in thrall to the magic of the image, exquisite timing and exuberant ambivalence. Which latter, for me, articulates exactly why dull certainties and conciliatory platitudes tend to sail over my head. Over's is a poetry of endless curiosity and intellectual generosity, inviting us to wander and wonder with the writer. The long poems and sequences capture a quality of musical improvisation, but the attention is pulled back, again and again, by unexpected lyrical detail; as if distraction (by beauty, by stupidity, by wonder) were the only true method. And it is.'
Luke Kennard

Quote of the Day an admirable concern to keep lines open to writing in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and America. Seamus Heaney Home Events Authors Titles Paperback Hardback Limited Edition Journal CD eBook Audiobook Exact Editions Imprints Anvil Press Poetry Aspects of Portugal Carcanet Classics Carcanet Fiction Carcanet Film Carcanet Poetry Fyfield Books Little Island Press Lives and Letters Northern House OxfordPoets PN Review Information About Us PN Review Turns 50 Years Old! Carcanet Celebrates 50 Years! Academic Enquiries Authors for Events Catalogue Contact Us Copyright and Permissions Join Our Mailing List Opportunities at Carcanet Press Enquiries PN Review PN Review Creative Writing Prize Returns Policy Shopping Guide Stocklist Submission Guidelines Trade Information Resources Audio Gallery Reading Group Guides Video
Book Search Search > advanced search Subscribe to our mailing list
Fourth and Walnut Jeremy Over 10% off Categories: 21st Century, British, Humour Imprint: Carcanet Poetry Publisher: Carcanet Press Available as: Paperback (88 pages) (Due Feb 2025) 9781800174603 £12.99 £11.69 Description Author Awards Reviews Equal parts commonplace book, instruction manual and cheerful vandalism, Fourth & Walnut is absurdly joyful, gathering together words from a wide range of favourite writers and artists, erasing some and fooling with others as variations on themes and tunes are tried out. ‘Advice to a Young Poet’ opens happily with the news that Rilke can be ignored. ‘Equinox in a Box’ records a day spent gazing upwards in a James Turrell skyspace while the mind remembers, dreams and wanders out of the box. Interludes on love and death deviate into a sequence promising an essay on reading and unpredictability, which is in turn distracted by counting snowdrops, shellacking cardboard boxes and the urge to take flight. The book ends with an erasure of an Edwardian book for children on the ‘art of seeing’, revealing alternative vistas by looking within, and teasing, the language. Beyond the whimsy, what the book seeks are the precise coordinates of heaven which Thomas Merton found in Louisville, on the corner of Fourth and Walnut. The search is, we learn, a kaleidoscopic and playful process of collage, digression and invention. Or, as Over puts it – ‘You have to look away and then back a few minutes later to notice the colour changes.’ Jeremy Over was born in Leeds in 1961. He now lives on a hill near Llanidloes in the middle of Wales. His poetry was first published in New Poetries II in 1999 and he has had three subsequent collections with Carcanet: A Little Bit of Bread and No Cheese (2001), Deceiving ... read more Awards won by Jeremy Over Short-listed, 2020 The Wales Poetry Book of the Year (Fur Coats in Tahiti) 'What I love about Jeremy Over's amazing writing is that everything, and I mean everything, seems to be available for him to work with and shape into memorable, challenging, and ultimately very human narratives, abstractions, meetings and diversions. Nobody else writes like him.' Ian McMillan 'A beautifully orchestrated hot-stepping set of riffs between the poet and the world ... Jeremy Over's Fourth and Walnut makes you want to stand up and read portions out to passersby, just for the sheer joy of what he brings to the speaking mind.' Sampurna Chattarji 'Fourth and Walnut takes in minimalism, citation, erasure, drawing, linguistics and philosophy to create a book of gentle profundity and quiet magic. Under its spell, the question isn't why monk and mystic Thomas Merton and TV weatherman Tomasz Schafernaker appear in the same poem, but why they haven't before. Over discusses the rhinoceros as a symbol of surprise. After reading his poems, it would take more than a rhinoceros to surprise me, although I would be worried about the linoleum.' Tom Jenks Praise for Jeremy Over 'A restless experimenter and game-player with language' Ian McMillan, The Reader 'It is this nothing offered that makes Fur Coats in Tahiti such a rewarding read, because it leads to destinations unknown, a restless, constantly moving walk after not knowledge, but illumination, the unexpected relationship between word and word that opens a window to the world. It is, I realise as I write, a kind of Dada Zen book; what more can I say?' Billy Mills 'They also seem magical. Like magic words, or Latin mass: more powerful for all its uncertainty.' Joe Darlington, Manchester Review of Books 'Joyous panoplies of alphabets warble, blossom and assemble into word songs made simultaneously stately and playful here in Fur Coats in Tahiti. Folklore and plainsong play with Stein and then Whitman comes over, inviting so many alphabetic others to join in: Wordsworth via Jandl via Atkins via Ono via You makes something entirely new! Over's marvelous word worlds mesh and refresh all our delights in loving thinking musics of sound, sense and nonce. Slip on this luxurious garment of a book where the language weather is always perfect.' Lee Ann Brown 'In Fur Coats in Tahiti, Jeremy Over exuberantly defies expectations. These poems rollick as they explore relationships between sound and sense, interweave the surreal and the mundane, and conduct whimsical, unpredictable journeys. The work teems with intelligence and delight.' Carrie Etter 'I am in love with the new collection by Jeremy Over, building as it does on the work of his first two books with so much style and grace. The poems are in thrall to the magic of the image, exquisite timing and exuberant ambivalence. Which latter, for me, articulates exactly why dull certainties and conciliatory platitudes tend to sail over my head. Over's is a poetry of endless curiosity and intellectual generosity, inviting us to wander and wonder with the writer. The long poems and sequences capture a quality of musical improvisation, but the attention is pulled back, again and again, by unexpected lyrical detail; as if distraction (by beauty, by stupidity, by wonder) were the only true method. And it is.' Luke Kennard	Share this... Quick Links Carcanet Poetry Carcanet Classics Carcanet Fiction Carcanet Film Lives and Letters PN Review Video Carcanet Celebrates 50 Years! The Carcanet Blog We've Moved! read more Books of the Year read more One Little Room: Peter McDonald read more Collected Poems: Mimi Khalvati read more Invisible Dog: Fabio Morbito, translated by Richard Gwyn read more Dante's Purgatorio: Philip Terry read more
We thank the Arts Council England for their support and assistance in this interactive Project.
Privacy Statement Sitemap RSS Feeds Home Events Authors Titles Imprints Information Resources This website ©2000-2025 Carcanet Press Ltd