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“A book with large ambitions that are met with great imaginative capacity.”—Paul Muldoon
In the centuries since Shakespeare’s Othello first hit the stage, the eponymous character has been subject to reinterpretation by countless artists around the world. Widely regarded as Shakespeare’s most famous Black character, Othello is also arguably the first Black hero in Western literature. Even so, the Bard’s Othello is acted upon by the forces around him far more than he wields them.
Assuming multiple masks as Othello in contemporary landscapes, celebrated Jamaican poet Jason Allen-Paisant invents the kinds of narrative he might tell about his own intersecting identities—as immigrant, as a Black man, as masculine. A polyglot, Allen-Paisant expands the boundaries of ekphrasis in the urban landscapes of London, Paris, and Venice, and considers the Black male body, its hyper(in)visibility, transgressiveness, and vulnerabilities. Crossing liminal spaces of language and borders, the poet represents contradictory xenophobic tensions that were emerging in seventeenth century Venice and still reside with us today. Allen-Paisant’s method is to know language, remake it, and call it out.
An act of glorious resistance and lyrical reinvention, Self-Portrait as Othello commands large ambitions with sweeping theatricality and verve.
“This indispensable collection explores Shakespeare’s pernicious archetype, observing how ‘the Moor remains invisible, despite the obsession with his body.’ Yet Allen-Paisant makes the historical impasse an occasion for deep, generous interrogation of masculinity, and a linked elevation of the maternal that is at the heart of so many Caribbean and other families. . . . Enriched by historical research, Self-Portrait as Othello celebrates representation, understanding, and speech as acts of glorious resistance.”—Fiona Sampson, The Guardian
“Jason Allen-Paisant’s Self-Portrait as Othello whisks its readers along like a confident lead (there is much dancing-related imagery to enjoy throughout), offering rich descriptions, lingual agility, and poignant social criticism along the way.”—Aaron Barry, World Literature Today
“Allen-Paisant’s achievement is not in simply modernising Shakespeare’s narrative; it is his addition of ambiguity, interiority, texture, and flesh that imbues the collection with an intellectual and emotional energy . . . . Allen-Paisant has crafted a memorable collection with great emotional and intellectual span, while maintaining a linguistic playfulness that enriches its reading.”—Eric Yip, Poetry London