Wole Soyinka - b. July 13, 1934
Akinwande Oluwole "Wole" Babatunde Soyinka was born in Nigeria and educated in England. In 1986, the playwright and political activist became the first African to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. His Nobel acceptance speech was dedicated to Nelson Mandela. Soyinka has published hundreds of works, including drama, novels, essays and poetry. Soyinka is also an outspoken political activist, and during the civil war in Nigeria he appealed in an article for a cease-fire. He was arrested for this in 1967, and held as a political prisoner for 22 months until 1969. Though refused materials such as books, pens, and paper, he still wrote a significant body of poems and works criticizing the Nigerian government. Despite his imprisonment, in September 1967, his play The Lion and The Jewel was produced in Accra. In November The Trials of Brother Jero and The Strong Breed were produced in the Greenwich Mews Theatre in New York. He also published a collection of his poetry, Idanre and Other Poems. Today in addition to being one of the most respected writers in the world, Soyinka is still as politically active as ever and in fact spent Nigeria’s election day of 2015, manning the phones to report any voting irregularities.
Akinwande Oluwole "Wole" Babatunde Soyinka was born in Nigeria and educated in England. In 1986, the playwright and political activist became the first African to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. His Nobel acceptance speech was dedicated to Nelson Mandela. Soyinka has published hundreds of works, including drama, novels, essays and poetry. Soyinka is also an outspoken political activist, and during the civil war in Nigeria he appealed in an article for a cease-fire. He was arrested for this in 1967, and held as a political prisoner for 22 months until 1969. Though refused materials such as books, pens, and paper, he still wrote a significant body of poems and works criticizing the Nigerian government. Despite his imprisonment, in September 1967, his play The Lion and The Jewel was produced in Accra. In November The Trials of Brother Jero and The Strong Breed were produced in the Greenwich Mews Theatre in New York. He also published a collection of his poetry, Idanre and Other Poems. Today in addition to being one of the most respected writers in the world, Soyinka is still as politically active as ever and in fact spent Nigeria’s election day of 2015, manning the phones to report any voting irregularities.
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