Wole Soyinka
Wole Soyinka
Akinwande Oluwole "Wole" Babatunde Soyinkais a Nigerian playwright and poet. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first African to be honored in that category...
NationalityNigerian
ProfessionPlaywright
Date of Birth13 July 1934
CityAbeokuta, Nigeria
CountryNigeria
africa cleansing conclude ethnic games government order playing time
The Sudanese government has been playing games with the world, with the Africa Union, in particular, have been playing for time in order to conclude its mission of ethnic cleansing in the Sudan.
writing thinking play
Even when I'm writing plays I enjoy having company and mentally I think of that company as the company I'm writing for.
gun play voice
. . . as far as the regime is concerned, well, the play is sheer terror for them. Because they feel, How dare - how dare anybody lift his or her voice in criticism against us? We have the guns. Their level of paranoia and power-drunkenness is unbelievable.
impossible moments pursuing question whether wondered
It's been difficult, and without a question I've had moments when I just wondered whether we're not really pursuing an impossible ideal.
civic nigerian opportunity
an opportunity for Nigerian civic society, an opportunity for the Nigerian military, and an opportunity for the international community.
acted against constitution evidence
Obasanjo has acted sufficiently against the constitution to warrant his impeachment. There is more than enough evidence to warrant his impeachment.
crossed line mockery moving political president total towards
We are moving towards a total mockery of constitutionalism. The president has crossed the line of political toleration.
The Lagos of my childhood was a well-laid-out maritime city.
peace whenever
I like my peace and quiet whenever I can grab it.
figure symbolic
Seven is the magic figure, because that's a symbolic figure of my favorite deity, Ogun.
cannot
All religions accept that there is something called 'criminality.' And criminality cannot be excused by religious fervour.
constant female life maybe
Probably to me the greatest singer, female voice, is Billie Holiday. And one of the most moving for me, I don't know why - maybe it's nostalgia, maybe because my life is one of constant partying, whatever.
fragment human individual share shatter understand war
A war, with its attendant human suffering, must, when that evil is unavoidable, be made to fragment more than buildings: It must shatter the foundations of thought and re-create. Only in this way does every individual share in the cataclysm and understand the purpose of sacrifice.
A tiger does not shout its tigritude, it acts.