Wole Soyinka
1934– · Nigerian (Abeokuta) · Postcolonial Africa
Known for: First African Nobel Laureate in Literature (1986)—playwright, poet, and fearless dissident
Wole Soyinka is a fearless dissident who was imprisoned for two years during the Nigerian Civil War—22 months in solitary confinement—and sentenced to death by Abacha's regime. He draws on Yoruba mythology, Greek tragedy, and modernist theater. His plays include Death and the King's Horseman and A Dance of the Forests.
He once seized a radio station at gunpoint to broadcast a protest. He became the first African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986. He is physically imposing, intellectually formidable, and a wine connoisseur, hunter, and motorcycle enthusiast.
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