Conjunctions #54, Shadow Selves

The mirror is humankind's most duplicitous invention. When we look into it do we see ourselves or an other? If we see an other, is that other a lie or some complex extension of a truth we don't quite grasp? And when we set down the mirror and imagine ourselves to be one or the other or some combination of both, who have we become? In this special issue of "Conjunctions," the very idea of self is tackled in fiction and poetry that investigates everything from innocent misperception to studied deception, delusion to fraud, crazed misdemeanors to premeditated crime. "Shadow Selves" offers a spectrum of permutations on these themes, with acclaimed and upcoming writers such as Elizabeth Hand, J.W. McCormack, Jonathan Carroll, Karen Russell, Peter Straub, Eleni Sikelianos, Frederick Tuten, Michael Sheean, Jason Labbe, Jess Row, Rae Armantrout, Melinda Moustakis and Rick Moody.