The exorcism changed him, but not how the preacher intended

Novelist Marlon James is one of the world’s most celebrated writers, but he grew up feeling like an outsider. As a young gay man in Jamaica, surrounded by homophobia, he fought against his sexuality at school and at church. Fearing ostracisation from his family he voluntarily entered into an exorcism, but the process didn’t work as intended, and Marlon broke with the Church. His burgeoning career as a writer took him away from Jamaica, to newfound freedoms, and eventually literary acclaim. Now his new book, The Disappearers, is about the Jamaican underground gay scene that he never got to experience.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Harry Graham

Photo: Marlon James is a middle-aged Jamaican man with medium length black hair and a grey-black beard. He‘s in half-profile with a gold earring.

Credit: Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images