WOLE SOYINKA

How does one even begin to introduce a splendid, cosmopolitan writer like the Nigerian, Wole Soyinka - the first African to win the Nobel Award in Literature? A consummate, versatile writer who has published voraciously in virtually every field for almost 60 years?

Simplistically, perhaps we should just very briefly look at his literary career alone; in three "phases" - his career as a young man; after he was released from prison; and after he won the Nobel Award (1986).     

Even before he was imprisoned during the Nigerian civil war (late 60s) Wole Soyinka as a young man was already established as one of Africa's pre-eminent writers, and a dazzling playwright and poet. He had already published plays like The strong breed, The lion and the jewel, and the acclaimed A dance of the forests. His poetry had appeared in many journals, and Idanre (his book of poetry) was about to be published.  

Also already published (1963) was Soyinka's superb novel, The Interpreters, which at the time seemed ahead of its time; attracting heaps of critical attention around the world.

After his release from prison, Soyinka's literary creativity grew by leaps and bounds. The man died (prison notes) was both brilliant and controversial; A shuttle in the crypt (poetry) alluded to his incarceration too. Madmen and specialists was just one out of many plays that went on to include Kongi's harvest,

The bacchae of Euripides, Jero's Metamorphosis, Requiem for a futurologist, and A play of Giants. Another profound novel, Season of anomy, was also published; and a moving nigh-nonpareil autobiography, Ake. 

The black world celebrated in gargantuan fashion when Soyinka garnered the Nobel Award in 1986. Few would doubt that he was not eminently worthy of the award. It was the culmination of a lifetime of adroit writing, and commitment to his craft.

Yet since he reached the apogee, so to speak, Soyinka has written and published several more works to cement his reputation as one of the greatest writers the world at large has ever seen. He has been so prolific that disparate global lists of his works can hardly ever be complete.       

Since becoming a Nobel Laureate Soyinka has published other plays like The beatification of area boy, and King Baabu. The essays and general prose have been very impressive indeed; including Isara, a voyage around essay; Penkelemes, the Ibadan days; You must set forth at dawn (2006), a "definitive memoir" among many others(see Bibliography below).    

He continued to write poems, with Mandela's Earth particularly acclaimed. More recent works include the Burden of memory - the Muse of Forgiveness, and Of Africa. The list - like the numerous published studies on his work – seems endless...   

- O Bolaji

Bibliography

The Swamp Dwellers (1958)

The Lion and the Jewel (1959)

The Trials of Brother Jero

A Dance of the Forests (1960)

The Strong Breed (1964)

Kongi's Harvest (1964)

The Road (1965)

Madmen and Specialists (1970)

The Bacchae of Euripides (1973)

Death and the King's Horseman (1975)

Opera Wonyosi (1977)

Requiem for a Futurologist (1983)

A Play of Giants (1984)

The Beatification of Area Boy (1996)

King Baabu (2001)

The Interpreters (novel)

Season of Anomy (1972)

The Man Died: Prison Notes (1971)

Aké: The Years of Childhood (1981)

Ibadan: The Penkelemes Years: a memoir 1946-65 (1989)

Isara: A Voyage around Essay (1990)

You Must Set Forth at Dawn (2006)

Idanre and other poems (1967)

A Shuttle in the Crypt (1971)

Myth, Literature and the African World (1976)

Mandela's Earth and other poems (1988)

Art, Dialogue, and Outrage: Essays on Literature and Culture (1988)

The Credo of Being and Nothingness (1991)

The Burden of Memory – The Muse of Forgiveness (1999)

Studies:

Wole Soyinka : politics, poetics, and postcolonialism by Biodun Jeyifo

Wole Soyinka by Gerald Moore 

Wole Soyinka revisited by Derek Wright

The writing of Wole Soyinka by Eldred D Jones 

Wole Soyinka : an introduction to his writing by Obi Maduakor 

Critical perspectives on Wole Soyinka 

Wole Soyinka and modern tragedy : a study of dramatic theory and
practice by Ketu H Katrak 

Wole Soyinka by James Gibbs 

Achebe or Soyinka? : a study in contrasts by Kole Omotoso 

Perspectives on Wole Soyinka : freedom and complexity 

Wole Soyinka : an appraisal by Adewale Maja-Pearce 

Index of subjects, proverbs, and themes in the writings of Wole
Soyinka by Greta M Coger