The story of a man coming to terms with his homosexuality in traditional Japanese society has become a modern classic.

This volume looks at masking and unmasking as indivisible aspects of the same process. It gathers articles from a wide range of disciplines and addresses un/masking both as a historical and a contemporary phenomenon. By highlighting the performative dimensions of un/masking, it challenges dichotomies like depth and surface, authenticity and deception, that play a central role in masks being commonly associated with illusion and dissimulation. The contributions explore topics such as the relationship between face, mask, and identity in artistic contexts ranging from Surrealist photography to video installations and from Modernist poetry to fin-de-siècle cabaret theater. They investigate un/masking as a process of transition and transformation – be it in the case of the wooden masks of the First Nations of the American Northwest Coast or of the elaborate costumes and vocal masking of pop icon Lady Gaga. In all of these instances, the act of un/masking has the power to simultaneously hide and reveal. It destabilizes supposedly fixed identities and blurs the lines between the self and the other, the visible and the invisible. The volume offers new perspectives on current debates surrounding issues such as protective masks in public spaces, facial recognition technologies, and colonial legacies in monuments and museums, offering insight into what the act of un/masking can mean today. With contributions by Laurette Burgholzer, Joyce Cheng, Sarah Hegenbart, Bethan Hughes, Judith Kemp, Christiane Lewe, W. Anthony Sheppard, Bernhard Siegert, Anja Wächter, and Eleonore Zapf.

A collection of short fiction by the award-winning writer Alina Stefanescu in which the author brings an immigrant's sharp eye to the American way of life. In prose that reminds us of the best of Grace Paley, Every Mask I Tried On is by turns smart, funny, and profound.

Porsha The Poet Mask Off: Reflections Of My Spiritual Awakening is a book of 30 poems. My poetry reflects my evolution as a creator and as a woman while eye transition into a Spiritual Goddess. While reading this book you will tap into my inner soul; discovering my perspectives on life, love, heartbreak and true divine knowledge of self. This book is only a portion of my evolution and is filled with poetry that speaks to the soul; while captivating your mind and expanding your knowledge. Eye speak for my people, and for those who have no voice. The messages this book will convey will leave an everlasting impression of who Eye am, who Eye was and whom Eye am becoming. Follow me as we walk the roads into my eternal soul.

Drawing on secondary works in archaeology, art history, folklore, ethnohistory, ethnography, and literature, the authors maintain that the mask is the central metaphor for the Mesoamerican concept of spiritual reality. Covers the long history of the use of the ritual mask by the peoples who created and developed the mythological tradition of Mesoamerica. Chapters: (1) the metaphor of the mask in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica: the mask as the God, in ritual, and as metaphor; (II) metaphoric reflections of the cosmic order; and (III) the metaphor of the mask after the conquest: syncretism; the Pre-Columbian survivals; the syncretic compromise; and today's masks. Over 100 color and black-&-white photos.