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Jason Allen-Paisant

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Jason Allen-Paisant
Born1980 (age 43–44)
Jamaica
Alma materUniversity of the West Indies (Mona);
École normale supérieure (Paris);
University of Oxford
Occupation(s)Poet, writer and academic
Notable workThinking with Trees
Self-Portrait as Othello
AwardsOCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature (2022)
T. S. Eliot Prize (2023)
Websitewww.jasonallenpaisant.com

Jason Allen-Paisant (born 1980) is a Jamaican poet, writer and academic. His second collection of poems, Self-Portrait as Othello, won the 2023 T. S. Eliot Prize and the 2023 Forward Prize for Best Collection.

Biography

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Early years and education

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Allen-Paisant grew up in a small village in Manchester Parish,[1] central Jamaica. His mother was a primary school teacher.[2][3] He attended the University of the West Indies (Mona), followed by further study at the École normale supérieure (Paris), and the University of Oxford, where he earned a DPhil (Doctor of Philosophy) in Medieval & Modern Languages.[4]

Writing

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His dissertation was on theatre from the French- and English-speaking Caribbean and a monograph on Derek Walcott, Aimé Césaire and Bertolt Brecht, Théâtre dialectique postcolonial (Classiques Garnier),[5] was published in 2017. A second monograph, Engagements with Aimé Césaire: Thinking with Spirits, will be published in February 2024 with Oxford University Press.[6]

Allen-Paisant's first collection of poems, Thinking with Trees,[7] won the poetry category of the 2022 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature.[8] His second collection, Self-Portrait as Othello,[9] uses William Shakespeare's Othello to explore a black male immigrant's search for an identity and masculine role mode.[2] It was a Poetry Book Society Choice in 2023 and went on to win the 2023 Forward Prize for Best Collection[10] and the 2023 T. S. Eliot Prize.[11] According to the Eliot Prize judging panel (which comprised Paul Muldoon, Sasha Dugdale and Denise Saul), Allen-Paisant's collection is "a book with large ambitions that are met with great imaginative capacity, freshness and technical flair."[12]

A work of creative non-fiction by Allen-Paisant, entitled The Possibility of Tenderness: A Jamaican's Search for Freedom in Nature, is due to be published in 2025.[4]

Academic career

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Allen-Paisant is currently Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Critical Theory and Creative Writing in the Department of English, American Studies, and Creative Writing at the University of Manchester.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Knight, Lucy (16 January 2024). "Interview | 'It was a real trauma': the TS Eliot poetry prize winner on his turbulent upbringing". The Guardian.
  2. ^ a b "Jason Allen-Paisant: Poet's Self-Portrait as Othello wins TS Eliot prize". BBC News. 15 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Carcanet Press - Thinking with Trees". www.carcanet.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "Research Profile | Jason Allen-Paisant". The University of Manchester. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  5. ^ Allen-Paisant, Jason (2017). Théâtre dialectique postcolonial: Aimé Césaire et Derek Walcott (in French). Classiques Garnier. ISBN 978-2-406-06259-2.
  6. ^ "Oxford University Press". global.oup.com. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  7. ^ Allen-Paisant, Jason (24 June 2021). Thinking with Trees. Carcanet Poetry. ISBN 978-1-80017-114-5.
  8. ^ "Celeste Mohammed wins OCM Bocas Prize". Trinidad Express Newspapers. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  9. ^ Allen-Paisant, Jason (30 March 2023). Self-Portrait as Othello. Carcanet Poetry. ISBN 978-1-80017-311-8.
  10. ^ Knight, Lucy (16 October 2023). "Bohdan Piasecki wins best performed poem in new Forward prize category". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  11. ^ Creamer, Ella (15 January 2024). "Jamaican poet Jason Allen-Paisant's Self-Portrait as Othello wins TS Eliot prize". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  12. ^ Ulea, Anca (16 January 2024). "Jamaican poet Jason Allen-Paisant wins T.S. Eliot prize for second poetry collection". Euronews.
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