Wole Soyinka

Wole Soyinka (* 1934 in Nigeria) is a playwright, poet, novelist and essayist. Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986, Wole Soyinka has authored over thirty works in the medium of plays, novels, poetry, essays, and biographies, many of which have been translated into numerous languages or have been staged as theatre performances. Among his most important works are: Aké. Years of Childhood (1981), The burden of Memory (1998) and his comprehensive autobiography, encompassing his adult political and literary activities: You must set forth at dawn (2006). He is active in artistic, academic and Human Rights organisations, and is a recipient of numerous academic and national honours all over the world, with traditional titles in his own country. A Yoruba born in Western Nigeria and educated in Ibadan, and Leeds, England, he continues to lecture extensively within Nigeria and internationally. Wole Soyinka was Hutchins Fellow at Harvard University, USA, and Honorary Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge. He is Emeritus Professor at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

As of May 2016