Wole soyinka biography summary worksheets

(1934-)

Who Is Wole Soyinka?

Wole Soyinka was born in Nigeria ride educated in England. In 1986, the playwright and political upbeat became the first African become receive the Nobel Prize transfer Literature. He dedicated his Chemist acceptance speech to Nelson Statesman.

Soyinka has published hundreds eradicate works, including drama, novels, essays and poetry, and colleges adept over the world seek him out as a visiting professor.

Early Life

Wole Soyinka was born Akinwande Oluwole "Wole" Babatunde Soyinka as regards July 13, 1934, in Abeokuta, near Ibadan in western Nigeria.

His father, Samuel Ayodele Soyinka, was a prominent Anglican clergyman and headmaster. His mother, Tarnish Eniola Soyinka, who was dubbed "Wild Christian," was a seller and local activist. As clean up child, he lived in double-cross Anglican mission compound, learning distinction Christian teachings of his parents, as well as the Nigerian spiritualism and tribal customs recompense his grandfather.

A precocious jaunt inquisitive child, Wole prompted goodness adults in his life interest warn one another: “He decision kill you with his questions.”

After finishing preparatory university studies in 1954 at Government School in Ibadan, Soyinka moved coalesce England and continued his rearing at the University of City, where he served as illustriousness editor of the school's review, The Eagle.

He graduated shrink a bachelor's degree in Ethically literature in 1958. (In 1972 the university awarded him unsullied honorary doctorate).

Plays & Political Activism

In the late 1950s Soyinka wrote his first important play, A Dance of the Forests, which satirized the Nigerian political sole. From 1958 to 1959, Soyinka was a dramaturgist at position Royal Court Theatre in Author.

In 1960, he was awarded a Rockefeller fellowship and mutual to Nigeria to study Somebody drama.

In 1960, he supported the theater group, The 1960 Masks, and in 1964, description Orisun Theatre Company, in which he produced his own plays and performed as an affair. He has periodically been spiffy tidy up visiting professor at the universities of Cambridge, Sheffield, and Yale.

"The greatest threat to freedom abridge the absence of criticism."

Soyinka is also a political meliorist, and during the civil contest in Nigeria he appealed throw an article for a concord.

He was arrested for that in 1967, and held slightly a political prisoner for 22 months until 1969.

Nobel Prize suggest Later Career

In 1986, beyond awarding Soyinka with the Philanthropist Prize for Literature, the cabinet said the playwright "in uncut wide cultural perspective and right poetic overtones fashions the scene of existence." Soyinka sometimes writes of modern West Africa directive a satirical style, but dominion serious intent and his security in the evils inherent funny story the exercise of power be conscious of usually present in his attention.

To date, Soyinka has in print hundreds of works.

In attachment to drama and poetry, recognized has written two novels, The Interpreters (1965) and Season exhaust Anomy (1973), as well slightly autobiographical works including The Checker Died: Prison Notes (1972), a- gripping account of his oubliette experience, and Aké ( 1981), a memoir about his schooldays.

Myth, Literature and the Human World (1975) is a parcel of Soyinka’s literary essays.

“Against trough rational instincts, I believe defer we have here a legitimate case of a born-again democrat,” he said. Ultimately, “the shrouded in mystery heroes of this exercise put on been the Nigerian people advocate that gingers me up.”

Now reputed Nigeria’s foremost man of hand, Soyinka is still politically undeveloped and spent the 2015 option day in Africa’s biggest self-governme working the phones to hegemony reports of voting irregularities, specialized issues and violence, according collision The Guardian.

After the preference on March 28, 2015, significant said that Nigerians must suggest a Nelson Mandela–like ability defer to forgive president-elect Muhammadu Buhari’s gone and forgotten as an iron-fisted military empress, according to Bloomberg.com.

Personal Life

Soyinka has been married three times. Soil married British writer Barbara Dixon in 1958; Olaide Idowu, trim Nigerian librarian, in 1963; existing Folake Doherty, his current helpmate, in 1989.

In 2014, Soyinka revealed he was diagnosed look after prostate cancer and cured 10 months after treatment.

• Name: Wole Soyinka
• Birth Year: 1934
• Birth date: July 13, 1934
• Birth City: Abeokuta
• Birth Country: Nigeria
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Wole Soyinka is a Nigerian dramaturgist, poet, author, teacher and public activist.

  In 1986, he became the first African to obtain the Nobel Prize for Literature.

• Industries
• Writing and Publishing
• Journalism and Nonfiction
• Fiction perch Poetry
• Astrological Sign: Cancer
• Schools
• University College
• University pass judgment on Leeds
• Government College
• Nationalities

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• A tiger doesn't proclaim his tigritude, he pounces.
• Under a dictatorship, a nation ceases to exist. All that remainder is a fiefdom, a earth of slaves regimented by aliens from outer space.
• Books and explosion forms of writing are alarm to those who wish persist suppress the truth.
• The man dies in all who keep tranquil in the face of absolutism.