Wole Soyinka
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Who Is Wole Soyinka?
Wole Soyinka was born in Nigeria and educated in England. In , the playwright and political activist became the first African to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. He dedicated his Nobel acceptance speech to Nelson Mandela. Soyinka has published hundreds of works, including drama, novels, essays and poetry, and colleges all over the world seek him out as a visiting professor.
Early Life
Wole Soyinka was born Akinwande Oluwole "Wole" Babatunde Soyinka on July 13, , in Abeokuta, near Ibadan in western Nigeria. His father, Samuel Ayodele Soyinka, was a prominent Anglican minister and headmaster. His mother, Grace Eniola Soyinka, who was called "Wild Christian," was a shopkeeper and local activist. As a child, he lived in an Anglican mission compound, learning the Christian teachings of his parents, as well as the Yoruba spiritualism and tribal customs of his grandfather. A precocious and inquisitive child, Wole prompted the adults in his life to warn one another: “He will kill you with his questions.”
After finishing preparatory university studies in at Government College in Ibadan, Soyinka moved to England an
Wole Soyinka is one of Africa&#;s most prominent playwrights, poets, and activists. You may not have read any of his works in school, but you should definitely check him out. This Nigerian icon is the first black African to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.
For over 60 years, Soyinka has been speaking truth to power through his creative works and advocating for human rights, often at great personal risk. His plays, novels, and poems provide insightful social commentary on politics, culture, and humanity. Most of his works are highly engaging, funny, and imaginative. Get ready to learn all about this inspiring figure who has dedicated his life to using the arts as a weapon for change.
Biography of Professor Wole Soyinka
Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka Hon. FRSL (Yoruba: Aknwándé Olwlé Babátndé óyinká; born 13 July ), also known as Wole Soyinka, is a Nigerian playwright, writer, poet, and essayist in English. He was the first Sub-Saharan African to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature in for &#;fashioning the drama of existence in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones.&#;His Nobel acceptance speech was dedicated to Nelson Mandela.
Wole Soyinka grew up
Wole Soyinka: Biography, Political Activism, Major Plays, Nobel Prize, &#; Achievements
Wole Soyinka &#; Image courtesy &#; from the Nobel Foundation archive
In recent decades, very good playwrights have emerged from the African continent, but nowhere do they reach the excellence of Nigerian playwright and poet Wole Soyinka.
Most known for winning the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature in , Wole Soyinka has written critically acclaimed plays for both theatre and radio. He thus became the first sub-Saharan African to win a Nobel Prize.
Drawing heavily from Yoruba people’s myths, rites and cultural patterns, Soyinka, a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Duke University, has attained incredible feats to the point where he is now considered one of the finest poetical playwrights of all time.
Wole Soyinka: Quick Facts
Born: Akinwande Ouwole “Wole” Soyinka
Birthday: July 13,
Place of birth: Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria (formerly Nigeria Protectorate)
Parents: Grace Eniola Soyinka and Samuel Ayodele Soyinka
Siblings: Folashade (died at age one), Kayode, Omofolabo “Folabo”, Yeside, Femi, and Atinuke “Tinu”.
Education: Abeokuta Grammar School, Government
Wole Soyinka Biography
Nationality: Nigerian. Born: Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka, in Abeokuta, Education: St. Peter's School, Ake, Abeokuta, ; Abeokuta Grammar School, ; Government College, Ibadan, ; University College, Ibadan (now University of Ibadan), ; University of Leeds, Yorkshire, , B.A. (honors) in English. Career: Play reader, Royal Court Theatre, London, ; Rockefeller Research Fellow in drama, University of Ibadan, ; lecturer in English, University of Ife, Ile-Ife, ; senior lecturer in English, University of Lagos, ; head of the department of theater arts, University of Ibadan, (appointment made in ); professor of comparative literature, and head of the department of dramatic arts, University of Ife, Visiting fellow, Churchill College, Cambridge, ; visiting professor, University of Ghana, Legon, , University of Sheffield, , Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, , and Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, Founding director, Masks Theatre, , and Orisun Theatre, , Lagos and Ibadan, and Unife Guerilla Theatre, Ile-Ife, ; co-editor, Black Orpheus, ; editor, Transition (later Ch'indaba) magazine, Accra, Ghana, Secretary-General, Union of Writers of the African
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