The interlocking poems of Jason Allen-Paisant’s second collection, Self-Portrait as Othello—winner of the 2023 Forward Prize for Best Collection and the 2023 T.S. Eliot Prize—imagine Othello in the urban landscapes of modern London, Paris and Venice and invent the kinds of narrative he might tell about his intersecting identities. Portraiting himself as Othello, Jason refracts his European travels and considers the Black male body, its presence, transgressiveness and vulnerabilities. Othello’s intertwined identities as ‘immigrant’ and ‘Black’, which often operate as mutually reinforcing vectors, speak to us in the landscape of twenty-first century Europe.

Jason Allen-Paisant joins fellow poet Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe to talk about his acclaimed collection at the West Cork Literary Festival in Bantry. This event is presented in association with Poetry Ireland.

Tickets: €16, book here