A book is a possibility for action. Like a musical score, it does not exist until it is performed by a reader, and, of course, some texts are more difficult to perform than others.

Mr. Kostelanetz's unique and fascinating Recyclings, apparently composed from earlier essays by aleatory techniques, are as difficult to review as they are to perform. In these pieces, the reader must come to terms not with plot, character, theme, or idea, but with words in themselves, devoid of connection, syntax, and guidelines. Performance is controlled by the printed page but remains infinite in interpretation, for the elements of these important texts are simply what they are: words as openness, words as freedom, words as possibility, words as words, offered up by Kostelanetz, and free and open to the play of thought. The Recyclings then are words in their purest form, and they are well worth...