Jason Allen-Paisant: Poet's Self-Portrait as Othello wins TS Eliot prize

Jamaican writer and academic Jason Allen-Paisant wins the prestigious TS Eliot prize for his poetry, including the piece “Poet’s Self-Portrait as Othello.” This award marks a significant achievement in the UK’s literary landscape.

Jamaican writer and academic Jason Allen-Paisant wins the UK’s most prestigious award for poetry.

The judges praised the work of Allen-Paisant, describing it as a compelling blend of nerve, style, and integrity that readers will revisit for years to come. Currently, he serves as a critical theory and creative writing instructor at the University of Manchester. Scheduled for release later this year, his first non-fiction book has already generated anticipation.

At the 30th-anniversary celebration of the poetry prize in London, the 43-year-old writer and academic Jason Allen-Paisant was presented with the £25,000 award. Visibly moved, he expressed his overwhelming emotions during the acceptance, acknowledging the significance of the achievement. Reflecting on his journey, Allen-Paisant shared his humble beginnings as a “little country boy” from Jamaica, emphasizing that he is the first in his family to attain A levels and attend university.

Coming from the rural agricultural district of Manchester in Jamaica, where basic amenities were scarce during his upbringing, Allen-Paisant highlighted the challenges he faced. Raised by a retired primary school teacher, his mother, he revealed the absence of his father and the impact it has had on his life. The poet expressed that a significant part of his awarded work delves into his search for a connection with his absent father, providing a poignant exploration of this theme.

Allen-Paisant, based in Leeds, has garnered positive acclaim for his second collection, which delves into the exploration of a black male immigrant’s quest for identity and a masculine role model using Shakespeare’s Othello as a backdrop. The collection has received praise from various critics.

Having arrived in the UK in 2011 to pursue studies at Oxford University’s Merton College, Allen-Paisant describes the experience as “transformative.” It was at Oxford where a professor-mentor initially encouraged him to delve deeper into his ideas surrounding Othello.

His debut poetry collection, titled “Thinking with Trees,” secured the poetry category of the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature in 2022.

Judging the work, Paul Muldoon, a previous TS Eliot prize winner and chair of the judges, along with fellow judges Sasha Dugdale and Denise Saul, remarked on “Self-Portrait as Othello” as a book with ambitious themes, praising its imaginative capacity, freshness, and technical flair. The poetry, as suggested by the title, is delivered with theatricality, encompassing a variety of voices and registers, spanning different geographies and eras.

The TS Eliot Prize 2023 shortlist consists of 10 poets, selected from a pool of 186 submissions submitted by British and Irish publishers. The shortlisted poets, hailing from the UK, Ireland, Hong Kong, and the US, include Joe Carrick-Varty, Jane Clarke, Katie Farris, Kit Fan, Ishion Hutchinson, Fran Lock, Eilean Ni Chuilleanain, Sharon Olds, and Abigail Parry. The poets showcased their work during a nearly two-hour reading at the UK’s largest annual poetry event held in London’s Royal Festival Hall on Sunday evening.

Each poet on the shortlist will be awarded a cheque for £1,500 in recognition of their outstanding achievement. The reigning champion from the previous year was British-Trinidadian poet and novelist Anthony Joseph, honored for his autobiographical collection “Sonnets for Albert,” delving into the impact of a father’s absence during upbringing.

The TS Eliot Prize is an annual accolade presented to the best new poetry collection published in the UK and Ireland. Notable past winners include Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney, former poet laureate Ted Hughes, Alice Oswald, and Carol Ann Duffy.