Wole Soyinka’s career as a writer of drama, poetry, memoirs, novels and essays is dominated by a fierce adherence to human rights and the value of the individual’s experience. Throughout his career, Soyinka has retained a basic vision: the exposure of “man’s inhumanity to man”; in several of his works, Soyinka presses beyond literary exposure of societal ills to promote change. He has done so through the theatre and lecturing, as well as through daring – some would argue reckless – personal intervention. The first African to win the Nobel Prize for Literature (1986), Soyinka’s work may be loosely divided into works of populism and more metaphysically-oriented writings. His reputation will rest, as the abundance of critical coverage attes

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First published 16 September 2003

Citation: McLuckie, Craig. "Wole Soyinka". The Literary Encyclopedia. 16 September 2003.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4161, accessed 20 November 2009.]