From Behind the Mask: Essays on South Louisiana Mardi Gras Runs, details rural Cajun culture in a comprehensive collection of essays on Mardi Gras from Best of The Beat Lifetime Achievement in Music Education recipient Dr. Barry Jean Ancelet. The new book, published by University of Lafayette Press, hits bookstores January 24.

The book weaves together essays written over a period of more than 40 years based on Ancelet’s fieldwork observations and experiences. Ancelet, widely acknowledged as the leading authority on Cajun culture and on the rural courir de Mardi Gras, explores critical elements of the region’s signature festivity, including strategies for masking, costuming, begging, singing, playing and moving through the countryside.

He addresses historical issues such as the tradition’s roots in European and Afro-Caribbean festivals, as well as its contemporary dynamics and ongoing evolution. In addition, he explores the local social, cultural and political issues tied to Mardi Gras such as class, identity, gender and race.

“Barry Ancelet has given us a deep, wide narrative of experiences over nearly a half-century at Cajun Courir des Mardi Gras throughout French south Louisiana,” said Nick Spitzer, professor of anthropology, Tulane University, host and producer of public radio’s American Routes.

From Behind the Mask can be purchased online via this link and through other major retailers.