Borrowed Words

Peter Wortsman returns to cut-up writing, the method of slicing existing text apart and reassembling the pieces into new words. Tristran Tzara, a Romanian-born Dada poet who went by Samuel Rosenstock in life (1896-1963), gave the technique its French name, découpé. Wortsman falls back on it whenever his mind is too scattered, low, stunned or unhinged to write in the usual way.

The book is set during the Covid-19 pandemic, as virtual lockdown drags into its third year. Wortsman, a modern-day monk, is confined to his cell and aches for meaningful human fellowship. Lacking belief in any transcendent being, he turns to cut-ups in place of prayer.