Praise for The Possibility of Tenderness "Jason Allen-Paisant, Jamaican that he is, manages that extraordinary feat only Jamaicans can pull off, which is to make unworkable ideas work. Here is a narrative of utmost urgency that moves at a glacial pace, a call to arms that's as easy as Sunday morning, a necessary public corrective that comes via cultivating private space. Surprising at every turn and rewarding in ways you never expect, this is an essential work." --Marlon James, author of Moon Witch, Spider King " The Possibility of Tenderness is an extraordinary, necessary book from a brilliant writer: a new song of the earth. It left me gripped, moved, fascinated, troubled and heartlifted. It rings and sings with curiosity and compassion; it sees with clear eyes and speaks with lucid, wise voice. It is a book that will be widely read and justly celebrated." --Robert Macfarlane, author of Is a River Alive? " The Possibility of Tenderness shows Jason Allen-Paisant embarking on a seemingly new genre of writing, that offers a broader poetics that seeks to embrace and not resist the sometimes-porous membrane separating traditional genres.

A beautiful and urgent work of productive experimentation and philosophical reckoning. Lick shot!" --Kwame Dawes, author of Sturge Town and the poet laureate of Jamaica "Profound and lyrical, The Possibility of Tenderness is intimate in the telling and epic in reach, an exploration of colonial power and collective memory told from the ground up." --Ekow Eshun, author of The Strangers "This exceptional book explores the complexity of human experience, from family to colonialism and class, through an intimate, lyrical voice and sentences that sing. A transformative, absorbing work." --Sinéad Gleeson, author of Hagstone "A work of delicacy, wonder, and--yes--great tenderness. With shadings of Kei Miller and Robin Wall Kimmerer, Allen-Paisant is an inspired recorder of the wisdom she, the community around her, and the island itself, have to share." --Sarah Howe, author of Loop of Jade.