Jason Allen-Paisant

poet

Jason Allen-Paisant, born in Jamaica in 1980, is a poet, writer, and academic who is currently a professor of critical theory and creative writing at Manchester University. His debut poetry collection, 'Thinking With Trees,' was released in 2021, followed by his acclaimed second collection, 'Self-Portrait as Othello,' which won the TS Eliot and Forward prizes. In his recent nonfiction work, 'The Possibility of Tenderness,' he explores themes of class, identity, and belonging through the lens of his upbringing in rural Jamaica and his current life in the UK. Allen-Paisant's writing seeks to reframe narratives around nature and the experiences of Black individuals, emphasizing the interconnectedness of culture and the environment.