WILLIAM T. VOLLMAN at the Northwest African American Museum |
He is the author of twenty-one books in twenty-three years, one of those 'books' being a seven-volume work on violence. Most of the other books are 'big' books, big in every way—subject matter, ambition, passion, scope, imagination, intelligence, size. William T. Vollmann has won a National Book Award (for Europe Central) and numerous other honors and awards. He makes this welcome return visit for his newest book this evening, the non-fiction work Kissing the Mask: Beauty, Understatement and Femininity in Japanese Noh Theater with Some Thoughts on Muses (especially Helga Testorf), Transgender Women, Kabuki Goddesses, Porn Queens, Poets, Housewives, Makeup Artists, Geishas, Valkyries, and Venus Figurines (Ecco). "Vollmann, who has tackled an astonishing array of subjects in fiction and nonfiction, here explores female beauty—its creation and consumption—with a spotlight on highly stylized traditional Japanese Noh theater. Because male actors wearing strictly codified masks perform all Noh roles, men, ironically, are both the creators and purveyors of female beauty. From Noh, Vollmann explores other far-flung performances of feminine beauty, including revered geisha, L.A. transvestites, a porn model, Andrew Wyeth's Helga paintings, and legendary Norse women, and even dons his own cross-gendered mask with the help of a makeup artist." – Terry Hong, Library Journal. Free admission. The Northwest African American Museum is at 2300 South Massachusetts Street (www.naamnw.org). Our special thanks to NAAM for aiding and abetting while we are in transition (moving) mode.
- Street:
- Northwest African American Museum
- Additional:
- 2300 S Massachusetts St
- City:
- Seattle ,
- Province:
- Washington
- Postal Code:
- 98144
- Country:
- United States
