Jason Allen-Paisant: The poet's self-portrait as Othello wins the TS Eliot Prize

Image source, TS Eliot Prize

Jamaican poet Jason Allen-Paisant has won the prestigious TS Eliot Prize for his book Self-Portrait as Othello .

Judges described his work as full of courage, style and integrity "that readers will return to for years to come."

Allen-Paisant teaches critical theory and creative writing at the University of Manchester. His first non-fiction book will be published later this year.

He received the £25,000 prize at a ceremony in London celebrating the 30th anniversary of the poetry prize.

The 43-year-old writer and academic was visibly moved as he accepted the award in front of his industry peers.

He later told the BBC that he felt overwhelmed upon learning he had won, calling it a "big, big deal."

"I'm just a little boy from the Jamaican countryside. I traveled far to get here," he shared, adding that He is the first person in his family to achieve A-levels and go to university.

"So, considering that, there's nothing likely about it."

Allen-Paisant evokes a small rural agricultural distribution...