Wole (Akinwande Oluwole) Soyinka

Wole Soyinka addresses ISS in The Hague

Akinwande Oluwole Wole Soyinka (born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian writer, poet and playwright. Some consider him Africa's most distinguished playwright, as he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, the first African since Albert Camus so honored.

Cover of Climate of Fear

Soyinka's literary career began in the experimental theater of the 1950s in England. In 1960 he was commissioned by the Nigerian government to write a play celebrating Nigerian independence. His play, A Dance of the Forests, has been called a lyrical blend of Western experimentalism and African folk tradition, reflecting a highly original approach to drama. (Professor Paul Brians, Washington State Unversity Department of English). Early plays include The Lion and the Jewel (1963), The Trials of Brother Jero (1964), and Madmen and Specialists (1970). Other well-known works include his memoir, Ake: The Years of Childhood (1981); novels, including The Interpreters (1965), which was written in English; collections of poems, including Mandela's Earth and Other Poems (1988), and works of analysis and commentary such as Myth, Literature, and the African World (1976) and The Open Sores of a Continent: A Personal Narrative of the Nigerian Continent (1996).

Soyinka has played an active role in Nigeria's political history. In 1967, during the Nigerian Civil War he was arrested by the Federal Government of General Yakubu Gowon and put in solitary confinement for his attempts at brokering a peace between the warring parties. While in prison he wrote poetry which was published in a collection titled Poems from Prison. He was released 22 months later after international attention was drawn to his imprisonment. His experiences in prison are recounted in his book The Man Died: Prison Notes.

Wole Soyinka

He has been an outspoken critic of many Nigerian administrations, and of political tyrannies worldwide, including the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe. A great deal of his writing has been concerned with the oppressive boot and the irrelevance of the colour of the foot that wears it. This activism has often exposed him to great personal risk, most notable during the government of the Nigerian dictator General Sani Abacha (1993-1998). During Abacha's dictatorship, Soyinka left the country on voluntary exile and has since been living abroad (mainly in the United States where he was a professor at Emory University in Atlanta). When civilian rule returned in 1999, Soyinka accepted an emeritus post at Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) on the condition that the university bar all former military officers from the position of chancellor. Soyinka is currently the Elias Ghanem Professor of Creative Writing at the English department of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

In 2005, he became one of the spearheads of an alternative National conference - PRONACO.

Links:
Extensive biography
Wikipedia entry
Interview with Democracy Now! Audio & transcripts
Interview with Democracy Now! Audio & transcripts
Interview with Mother Jones magazine - "Running to Stand Still" by Dave Gilson
Interview at UC Berkeley - "Conversations with History" Series
Biography and information page on UC Berkeley site
Reith Lectures on BBC "The Climate of Fear"