Wole Soyinka

Wole Soyinka is a renowned Nigerian playwright, poet, and essayist, widely considered one of the most significant African writers of the 20th century. He was born on July 13, 1934, in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Soyinka was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, becoming the first African to win the prestigious honor.

He is celebrated for his work that blends traditional African theatre with Western literary traditions, often addressing themes of politics, oppression, and human rights. His dramatic works, such as A Dance of the Forests, The Man Died: Prison Notes, and Death and the King's Horseman, reflect his deep engagement with social and political issues, both within Nigeria and internationally.

In addition to his literary accomplishments, Soyinka is known for his activism and outspoken stance against corruption, tyranny, and human rights abuses, particularly in Nigeria. He has been a critic of various Nigerian governments and was imprisoned during the Nigerian Civil War for his efforts to mediate peace. Soyinka’s intellectual and artistic contributions have made him an influential figure in global literature and political discourse.

Articles by the author

But theater, because of its nature, both text, images, multimedia effects, has a wider base of communication with an audience. That's why I call it the most social of the various art forms.

Wole Soyinka

I grew up in an atmosphere where words were an integral part of culture.

Wole Soyinka

The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism.

Wole Soyinka

But when you're deprived of it for a lengthy period then you value human companionship. But you have to survive and so you devise all kinds of mental exercises and it's amazing.

Wole Soyinka

I take friendship very seriously.

Wole Soyinka

There is only one home to the life of a river-mussel; there is only one home to the life of a tortoise; there is only one shell to the soul of man: there is only one world to the spirit of our race. If that world leaves its course and smashes on boulders of the great void, whose world will give us shelter?

Wole Soyinka

There is something really horrific for any human being who feels he is being consumed by other people. I'm talking about a writer's critics, who don't address what you've written, but want to probe into your existence and magnify the trivia of your life without any sense of humor, without any sense of context.

Wole Soyinka

And I believe that the best learning process of any kind of craft is just to look at the work of others.

Wole Soyinka

Under a dictatorship, a nation ceases to exist. All that remains is a fiefdom, a planet of slaves regimented by aliens from outer space.

Wole Soyinka

One has a responsibility to clean up one's space and make it livable as far as one's own resources go. That includes not only material resources, but psychological resources: the commitment of time and a portion of your mind to something when you'd rather be doing something else.

Wole Soyinka

There's no way to escape the culture that has evolved, from which we ourselves have evolved. Naturally, we stress it, break it up, reassemble it to suit our own needs. But it is there - a source of vital strength.

Wole Soyinka

I like my peace and quiet whenever I can grab it.

Wole Soyinka

Power is domination, control, and therefore a very selective form of truth which is a lie.

Wole Soyinka

Books and all forms of writing are terror to those who wish to suppress the truth.

Wole Soyinka

I began writing early - very, very early... I was already writing short stories for the radio and selling poems to poetry and art festivals; I was involved in school plays; I wrote essays, so there was no definite moment when I said, 'Now I'm a writer.' I've always been a writer.

Wole Soyinka