Monochrome, Perfect-bound Paperback, 210 x 148mm, 68pp

A love letter to the letters of the alphabet, Teo Eve's debut collection The Ox House contains an eclectic array of constraint-based poems, innovative forms, and concrete & visual works. At once homage to the intricate hieroglyphs used in Ancient Egypt & the beautifully illuminated capital forms of Medieval manuscripts, and an exploration into the possibilities of new ways of playing with letters' shapes & sounds, The Ox House harks back to a time when words were magic, and language was new.

“Teo Eve's The Ox House is a visual feast for those who love the sight, sound and playfulness of language. This collection is a homage to our alphabet but enables us to see it in a new light, examining the intricate beauty in the shape, meanings and interpretations that we attach to these letters. Reminiscent of some of bpNichol's work on letters and visual writing, The Ox House is a delightful array of work to read again and again, uncovering new things each time.”

­— Nikki Dudley, streetcake editor and poet

“Just as the philosopher's hammer is needed to appraise what remains of the book after the death of the author, so the abecedarian's hammer will sound out what remains of the alphabet after the death of the letter. With Teo Eve's The Ox House, letterism returns to its truth, the granular elements from which syllables, morphemes, and words emerge. But in returning there, it reveals that its truth is also its undoing. The letter is never merely in itself but always points to a realm beyond. The efforts of literacy come to naught unless the alphabet writes its own death, again and again. Thus the abecedaire becomes poetry, and the letters in this book point towards the healing of the world beyond.”

—Sascha Engel, founder of Strukturriss and author of Breaking the Alphabet