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{{Short description|Nigerian playwright, poet and novelist}}
{{redirect|Soyinka|the surname|Soyinka (surname)}}
{{Use Nigerian English|date=April 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name         = Wole Soyinka
| honorific-suffix= {{postnominals|country=NG|GCON}}
| image        = Wole Soyinka in 2018 (3x4 cropped).jpg
|alt           = Head and shoulders of an aged black man, with a full head of white hair. He has a medium-sized moustache.
| caption      = Soyinka in 2018
| birth_name   = Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka
| birth_date   = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1934|07|13}}
| birth_place        = [[Abeokuta]], [[British Nigeria]]
| occupation   = Novelist, playwright, poet
| relatives    = [[Ransome-Kuti family]]
}}
'''Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka''' {{post-nominals|country=NG|GCON}} (born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian author, best known as a playwright and poet. He has written three novels, ten collections of short stories, seven poetry collections, twenty-five plays and five memoirs.<ref name=":1" /> He also wrote two translated works and many articles and short stories for many newspapers and periodicals. He is widely regarded as one of Africa's greatest writers and one of the world's most important dramatists. He was awarded the [[1986 Nobel Prize in Literature]] for his "wide cultural perspective and poetic overtones fashioning the drama of existence".

Born into an [[Anglican Communion|Anglican]] [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] family in Aké, [[Abeokuta]], Soyinka had a preparatory education at [[Government College, Ibadan]] and proceeded to the [[University College Ibadan]]. During his education, he co-founded the [[Pyrate Confraternity]]. Soyinka left Nigeria for England to study at the [[University of Leeds]]. During that period, he was the editor of the university's magazine, ''The Eagle'', before becoming a full-time author in the 1950s. In the UK, he started writing short stories and making records for the [[BBC]] Lecture series. He wrote many plays which were performed on radios and in theatres in Nigeria and the UK, especially the [[Royal Court Theatre]].

He has been married to his third wife Folake Doherty since 1989. Since 1 September 2022, Soyinka has held the position of Arts Professor of Theatre at [[New York University Abu Dhabi]].

Many of Soyinka's novels and plays are set in Nigeria, reflecting the country’s history, culture, and political struggles. Alongside these works, he produced a wide range of [[satirical]] writings that reached a broad audience and enjoyed considerable popularity. He is also an accomplished poet, with numerous individual poems and several published collections to his name. He achieved successes with his plays including ''The Swamp Dwellers'' (1958), ''[[The Lion and the Jewel]]'' (1958), and ''The Invention'', which was one of his early plays to be produced at the Royal Court Theatre. [[List of works by Wole Soyinka|Soyinka wrote a number of other works]], including ''[[The Interpreters (novel)|The Interpreters]]'' (1965), ''[[Season of Anomy]]'' (1973), ''[[Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth]]'', and ''[[Harmattan Haze on an African Spring]]''. In July 2024, [[Bola Tinubu]] renamed the [[National Arts Theatre]] after Soyinka during his 90th birthday.

==Life==
===Early life===
[[File:Abeokuta Grammar School Gate, Idi-aba,Abeokuta2.jpg|thumb|[[Abeokuta Grammar School]], where Soyinka had his secondary education.]]
Soyinka is the son of Samuel Ayodele Soyinka, an [[Anglican]]<ref name=":5" /> minister and headmaster at St Peter's Primary School, who was a member of the [[royal family]] of the town of [[Isara-Remo]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://inroadsjournal.ca/nigerias-voltaire-or-maybe-dostoyevsky/|website=inroadsjournal.ca|title=Nigeria's Voltaire, or maybe Dostoyevsky|date=24 June 2022 |accessdate=11 April 2025}}</ref>{{sfn|Gibbs|1988|pp=526}} and [[Grace Soyinka]] (née Jenkins-Harrison), a shopkeeper and activist, who was a member of the [[Ransome-Kuti family]].{{sfn|Maduakor|1986|pp=227}} He was born in Ake, [[Abeokuta]], where he was raised as a [[Christian]]. He was born on 13 July 1934, and was the second of seven children: Atinuke Aina, [[Femi Soyinka|Femi]], Yeside, Omofolabo Ajayi, and Kayode.{{sfn|Ogunyemi|2021}}{{sfn|Dauda|Falola|2021|p=80}} His sister Folasade died as an infant.

Soyinka was educated at St. Peters Primary School, where his father was the headmaster, from 1940 to 1946. He had his secondary education at [[Abeokuta Grammar School]] and university preparatory studies at [[Government College, Ibadan]] from 1946 to 1951. He was admitted into the [[University College Ibadan]],{{sfn|Dauda|Falola|2021|p=80}} where he studied  [[English literature]], [[Greek language|Greek]], and [[Western history]] from 1952 to 1954. During his final years in the university, he wrote ''Keffi's Birthday Treat'', a short radio play, for the [[Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria]], which was broadcast in July 1954.{{sfn|Gibbs|1980|p=21}} Along with his classmates including Olumuyiwa Awẹ, Ralph Opara, Aig-Imoukhuede, and Pius Olegbe, Soyinka founded the [[National Association of Seadogs]], the first [[Confraternities in Nigeria|confraternity in Nigeria]].{{sfn|Dauda|Falola|2021|p=80}}

Soyinka relocated from Nigeria to England and continued his studies in English literature at [[University of Leeds]] from 1954 to 1957 under the supervision of [[G. Wilson Knight]],{{sfn|''Encyclopedia Britannica''|2024}} graduating in 1958. At Leeds, he served as the editor of the university's satirical magazine, ''The Eagle'', in which he wrote a column on academic life and often criticised his university peers.{{sfn|Lindfors|1974|pp=471–486}} In August 1955, he had started recording for [[BBC]] Lecture. He also wrote many short stories, which in 1957, he won the annual oratory competition run by the University.

===Writing and publishing===
[[File:Royal Court theater, Sloane Square Chelsea London UK 2020.jpg|thumb|The [[Royal Court Theatre]] in 2020. Most of Soyinka's early plays were performed in the theatre.]]
Soyinka remained in [[Leeds]] to complete his Master's degree.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=Wole Soyinka |first=James |last=Gibbs |publisher=Macmillan |year=1986 |isbn=9780333305287 |location=Basingstoke |page=3}}</ref> He wrote and published his first play ''The Swamp Dwellers'' in 1958. A year later, he published another play ''[[The Lion and the Jewel]]''. The comedy play attracted great interest from members of [[London]]'s [[Royal Court Theatre]]. Soyinka moved to London and worked as a play reader for the Royal Court Theatre. During that period, his two plays were performed in [[Ibadan]], Nigeria and explored the difficult relationship between progress and tradition in Nigeria.<ref name=":5">[http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/s/wole_soyinka/index.html "Wole Soyinka"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 22 July 2009.</ref> In 1957, his play ''The Invention'' was produced at the Royal Court Theatre, and was his first work to achieve that fame.<ref>{{Cite book |title=African Biography |publisher=Gale |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-7876-2823-9 |location=Detroit, MI |publication-date=2 December 2006 |chapter=Wole Soyinka}}</ref> He wrote poems, including "The Immigrant" and "My Next Door Neighbour", which appeared in ''[[Black Orpheus (magazine)|Black Orpheus]]''. Soyinka returned to Nigeria after receiving a [[Rockefeller Foundation|Rockefeller Research Fellowship]] for his research on African theatre. In November 1959, he replaced [[Janheinz Jahn]] as the co-editor of ''Black Orpheus'' as well as produced ''[[The Trials of Brother Jero]]'', which premiered in the Mellanby Hall residence of University College Ibadan, in April 1960.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/trials-brother-jero |title=The Trials Of Brother Jero |website=Encyclopedia.com |first=Alan |last=Jacobs |access-date=28 September 2021}}</ref> In the same year, his work ''A Dance of The Forest'', became the official play for the [[History of Nigeria#Independence|Nigerian Independence Day]] and on 1 October 1960, it premiered in Lagos.

Soyinka's first full-length play, entitled ''My Father's Burden'' was directed by [[Olusegun Olusola]] and featured on [[Western Nigeria Television]] on 6 August 1960.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.premiumtimesng.com/entertainment/146108-essential-soyinka-timeline-uzor-maxim-uzoatu.html |first=Uzor Maxim |last=Uzoatu |title=The Essential Soyinka Timeline |work=Premium Times |date=5 October 2013 |access-date=10 September 2019}}</ref> With the [[Rockefeller grant]], Soyinka bought a [[Land Rover]], and he began travelling throughout Nigeria as a researcher from the English Language department of University College Ibadan. In a 1960 essay, he criticised [[Leopold Senghor]]'s [[Négritude]] movement as "a nostalgic and indiscriminate glorification of [[black African]]'s past that ignores the potential benefits of modernisation". Soyinka wrote essays that defended Nigerian literacy, among them, "Death and the King's Horsemen",<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/standard-entertainment/article/2000086475/soyinkas-grumpy-battles-to-defend-literary-legacy |title=Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka's grumpy battles to defend literary legacy |first=Zakayo |last=Amayi |date=22 June 2013 |access-date=28 September 2021}}</ref> and "Towards a True Theater" (1962), which was published by ''[[Transition Magazine]]''.

A lecturer at [[Obafemi Awolowo University]] in [[Ifẹ]], Soyinka discussed current affairs with [[Negrophilia|negrophiles]] and on several occasions, openly condemned government censorship. At the end of 1963, his first feature-length movie, ''Culture in Transition'', was released. In 1965, his book ''The Interpreters'' was published in London by [[André Deutsch]]. Along with other professionals, Soyinka founded the [[Drama Association of Nigeria]].

In 1964, he resigned from his university post, as a protest against imposed pro-government behaviour by the authorities. In 1965, he was arrested for the first time, charged with holding up a radio station at gunpoint – about which he would later write in his 2006 memoir, ''You Must Set Forth at Dawn'' – and replacing the tape of a recorded speech by the premier of [[Western Region, Nigeria|Western Region]] with a different tape containing accusations of electoral malpractice. He was released after some months of confinement, as a result of protests by the international community of writers. In the same year, he wrote two more dramatic pieces: ''Before the Blackout'' and ''Kongi's Harvest''. He also wrote ''The Detainee'', a radio play for BBC in London. On 14 September 1965, his play ''[[The Road (play)|The Road]]'' premiered in London at the [[Commonwealth Arts Festival]] and at the [[Theatre Royal Stratford East]]. Soyinka was promoted to senior lecturer in the department of English language of the [[University of Lagos]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ezugwu |first=Obinna |title=Salute To Kongi At 87 - Business Hallmark |url=https://hallmarknews.com/salute-to-kongi-at-87/ |access-date=13 August 2022 |website=hallmarknews.com |date=19 July 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Marriages and teaching ===
In 1958, Soyinka married British writer Barbara Dixon, whom he met while studying at the University of Leeds in the 1950s. The couple had a son, [[Olaokun Soyinka|Olaokun]] and a daughter, Morenike.{{citation needed|date=October 2025}} After they separated, he married in 1963 to a Nigerian librarian, Olaide Idowu. They had three daughters: Moremi, Iyetade (1965–2013),{{sfn|''Sahara Reporters''|2013}} Peyibomi and a son, Ilemakin. Soyinka married Folake Doherty in 1989 and had three sons: Tunlewa, Bojode and Eniara.

From 1975 to 1999, Soyinka served as a Professor of [[Comparative literature]] at [[Obafemi Awolowo University]]. In the US, he taught at [[Cornell University]] as the [[Goldwin Smith]] professor for African Studies and Theatre Arts from 1988 to 1991. At [[Emory University]], he was appointed [[Robert W. Woodruff Professor]] of the Arts in 1996 and has been a Professor of Creative Writing at the [[University of Nevada, Las Vegas]]. Soyinka served as scholar-in-residence at [[New York University]]'s Institute of African American Affairs and at [[Loyola Marymount University]] in Los Angeles, California. He has also taught at the universities of [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]], [[University of Oxford|Oxford]], [[Harvard University|Harvard]] and [[Yale]]. He was a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at [[Duke University]] in 2008.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://alumni.duke.edu/magazine/articles/soyinka-stage |title=Soyinka on Stage {{!}} Nobel laureate works with student production of his play |magazine=Duke Magazine |date=31 January 2011 |issue=January–February 2011 |access-date=18 April 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

In December 2017, Soyinka received the [[Europe Theatre Prize]] in the "Special Prize" category,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2017/12/12/wole-soyinka-wins-europe-theatre-prize/ |title=Wole Soyinka Wins The Europe Theatre Prize |first=Kunle |last=Ajibade |date=12 December 2017 |work=PM NEWS Nigeria |access-date=24 December 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.concisenews.global/news/soyinka-wins-2017-the-europe-theatre-prize/ |title=Soyinka Wins 2017 Europe Theatre Prize |date=15 December 2017 |work=Concise News |access-date=24 December 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref> awarded to someone who has "contributed to the realization of cultural events that promote understanding and the exchange of knowledge between peoples".<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |url=http://www.jamesmurua.com/wole-soyinka-to-receive-europe-theatre-prize-2017/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225034855/http://www.jamesmurua.com/wole-soyinka-to-receive-europe-theatre-prize-2017/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=25 December 2017 |title=Wole Soyinka to receive Europe Theatre Prize 2017 |date=14 December 2017 |work=James Murua's Literature Blog |access-date=24 December 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref>

On 1 September 2022, Soyinka took up the appointment of Professor of Theatre at [[New York University Abu Dhabi]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wam.ae/en/article/hszrfcet-nobel-laureate-wole-soyinka-joins-nyu-abu-dhabi|title=Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka joins NYU Abu Dhabi faculty|publisher=Emirates News Agency-WAM|date=23 August 2022|access-date=7 September 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://nyuad.nyu.edu/en/academics/divisions/arts-and-humanities/faculty/wole-soyinka.html|title=Wole Soyinka {{!}} Arts Professor of Theater|website=nyuad.nyu.edu|publisher=New York University Abu Dhabi|access-date=7 September 2025}}</ref>

===Civil war and imprisonment===
After becoming Chair of [[Drama]] at the [[University of Ibadan]], Soyinka became more politically active. Following the [[Nigerian Civil War#Military coups|military coup]] of January 1966, he secretly met with [[Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu]], the military governor  in the [[Mid-Western Region, Nigeria|Southeastern]] Nigeria in an effort to avert the Nigerian [[Nigerian Civil War|civil war]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 September 2015 |title=Professor WOLE SOYINKA Full Biography, Life And News - How Nigeria News |url=https://howng.com/professor-wole-soyinka-full-biographylife-and-news/ |access-date=16 July 2022 |website=howng.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

<!---Unclear detail and possible NPOV interpretation. Please source and clean up this section. {{Confusing|date=May 2012}} He returned to Ẹnugu area to meet with Victor Banjọ, a Yorùbá who was working with Biafra. Banjọ told Soyinka that Biafra wanted "national liberation" for the whole of Nigeria. Soyinka sought the support of Western Region military leaders; in particular, he delivered Banjo's message directly to [[Lieutenant Colonel]] [[Olusegun Obasanjo]], who had recently been appointed as commanding officer for the [[Western Region, Nigeria|Western Region]]. Four evenings after Soyinka returned to the West, Biafran forces invaded the Midwest region, an area that previously maintained ''de facto'' neutrality.

Following the occupation of the Midwest, Soyinka met Obasanjo face-to-face to relay the goals of the Biafrans. Ọbasanjọ had already decided to align with the Nigerian federation. Biafra's invasion of the Midwest resulted in retaliation by federal government forces, and civil war began. Ọbasanjọ disclosed his meeting with Soyinka to his superiors, who declared the writer a traitor and sent out search parties to arrest him. They imprisoned him until the end of the war.*--->
Soyinka was subsequently arrested by federal authorities and imprisoned for 22 months,<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/07/27/wole.soyinka/index.html "Wole Soyinka: Nigeria's Nobel Laureate"], ''African Voices'', CNN, 27 July 2009.</ref> as [[Nigerian Civil War|civil war]] ensued between the [[Federal government of Nigeria]] and the secessionist state of [[Biafra]]. He wrote a significant body of poems and notes criticising the Nigerian government while in prison.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Despite his imprisonment, his play ''The Lion and The Jewel'' was produced in [[Accra]], [[Ghana]], in September 1967. In November that year, ''The Trials of Brother Jero'' and ''The Strong Breed'' were produced in the Greenwich Mews Theatre in New York City. Soyinka also published a collection of his poetry, ''Idanre and Other Poems'', which was inspired by his visit to the sanctuary of the Yorùbá deity [[Ogoun|Ogun]], whom he regards as his "companion" deity, kindred spirit, and protector.<ref name="ReferenceA">Soyinka, Wole (2006), ''You Must Set Forth at Dawn'', p. 6.</ref>

In 1968, the [[Negro Ensemble Company]] in New York produced ''[[Kongi's Harvest]]''.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=26 April 1968 |title=Theater: Kongi's Harvest |language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,838330,00.html |access-date=7 May 2022 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref> While still imprisoned, Soyinka translated from Yoruba a fantastical novel by his compatriot [[D. O. Fagunwa]], entitled ''[[The Forest of a Thousand Demons: A Hunter's Saga]]''.

Two films have been made about this period of his life. ''The Man Died'', directed by [[Awam Amkpa]], is a feature film based on a fictionalized form of Soyinka's 1973 prison memoirs of the same title.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Akanbi |first=Yinka |date=4 April 2024 |title=Awam Amkpa's Film Adaptation Of 'The Man Died' Stars Wale Ojo As Wole Soyinka |url=https://www.theculturenewspaper.com/awam-amkpas-film-adaptation-of-the-man-died-stars-wale-ojo-as-wole-soyinka/ |access-date=16 June 2024 |website=The Culture Newspaper |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=BellaNaija.com |date=3 April 2024 |title=Wole Soyinka's "The Man Died" is Coming to Life as a Feature Film this July {{!}} Watch Trailer |url=https://www.bellanaija.com/2024/04/wole-soyinka-the-man-died-feature-film-july-2024-trailer/ |access-date=16 June 2024 |website=BellaNaija |language=en-US}}</ref> ''[[Ebrohimie Road]]'', written and directed by [[Kola Tubosun]], explores the Ibadan house where Soyinka lived between 1967, when he returned to direct the School of Drama, and 1972, when he left for exile following his released from prison.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kola Tubosun Writes Documentary on Wole Soyinka's Campus Home on Ebrohimie Road |url=https://brittlepaper.com/2024/03/nigerian-writer-kola-tubosun-is-writing-and-producing-documentary-on-wole-soyinkas-campus-home-on-ebrohimie-road/ |first=Kuhelika |last=Ghosh |date=12 March 2024 |access-date=16 June 2024 |website=brittlepaper.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ebrohimie Road, documentary on Soyinka's bungalow, premieres |first=Akintayo |last=Abodunrin |url=https://www.msn.com/en-xl/africa/nigeria/ebrohimie-road-documentary-on-soyinka-s-bungalow-premieres/ar-BB1oj4Eh |date=16 June 2024 |access-date=16 June 2024 |website=www.msn.com}}</ref>

===Release and literary production===
In October 1969, when the civil war came to an end, amnesty was proclaimed, and Soyinka and other political prisoners were freed.<ref name="Case Histories: PEN America">{{Cite web |last=PEN America |date=16 April 2012 |title=Case Histories: Wole Soyinka |url=https://pen.org/case-histories-wole-soyinka/ |access-date=29 September 2020 |website=PEN America |language=en}}</ref> For the first few months after his release, Soyinka stayed at a friend's farm in southern France, where he sought solitude. He wrote ''[[The Bacchae of Euripides]]'' (1969), a reworking of the [[Pentheus]] myth.<ref name="K&R">Killam and Rowe (eds), ''The Companion to African Literature'' (2000), p. 276.</ref> He also published in London a book of poetry, ''Poems from Prison''. At the end of the year, he returned to his office as Chair of Drama at Ibadan.

In 1970, he produced the play ''Kongi's Harvest'', while simultaneously adapting it as a film of the same title. In June 1970, he finished another play, called ''Madmen and Specialists''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 July 2015 |title=Periscoping A Senseless War In Madmen And Specialists |first=Anote |last=Ajeluorou |url=https://guardian.ng/sunday-magazine/periscoping-a-senseless-war-in-madmen-and-specialists/ |access-date=18 March 2022 |website=The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News |language=en-US}}</ref> Together with the group of 15 actors of Ibadan University Theatre Art Company, he went on a trip to the United States, to the [[Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theatre Center]] in [[Waterford, Connecticut|Waterford]], [[Connecticut]], where his latest play premiered.

In 1971, his poetry collection ''A Shuttle in the Crypt'' was published. ''Madmen and Specialists'' was produced in Ibadan that year.<ref>{{cite web |first=Christopher J. |last=Lee |url=http://www.warscapes.com/opinion/reading-wole-soyinka-s-madmen-and-specialists-time-pandemic |title=Reading Wole Soyinka's 'Madmen and Specialists' in a Time of Pandemic |website=Warscapes |date=25 March 2020}}</ref> In April 1971, concerned about the political situation in Nigeria, Soyinka resigned from his duties at the University in Ibadan, and began years of voluntary exile.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=13 July 2019 |first=Ademola |last=Adegbamigbe |title=Soyinka at 85: 'Why I Detained Him for 2 Years During the Civil War' - Yakubu Gowon |url=https://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2019/07/13/soyinka-at-85-why-i-detained-him-for-2-years-during-civil-war-yakubu-gowon/ |access-date=23 May 2022 |website=The NEWS}}</ref>

Soyinka travelled to [[Paris]], France, to take the lead role as [[Patrice Lumumba]], the murdered first Prime Minister of the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Republic of the Congo]], in [[Joan Littlewood]]'s May 1971 production of ''Murderous Angels'', [[Conor Cruise O'Brien]]'s play about the [[Congo Crisis]].<ref name=Encyclopedia.com>{{Cite web |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/soyinka-wole-13-july-1934 |title=Soyinka, Wole 1934– |website=Encyclopedia.com |first=James |last=Gibbs |language=en |access-date=27 September 2021}} (Updated by [[Tanure Ojaide]].)</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Wole Soyinka: Politics, Poetics, and Postcolonialism |first=Biodun |last=Jeyifo |chapter=Chronology |page=xxvii |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nwhlgrVqvYkC&q=%22Murderous+Angels%22%3D&pg=PR27 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=2004 |isbn=9781139439084}}</ref> In July in Paris, excerpts from Soyinka's well-known play ''The Dance of The Forests'' were performed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adenekan |first=Sulaiman |title=The Pride of Africa: Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka clocks 85 years serving humanity poetically |url=https://www.tradenewswire.net/the-pride-of-africa-nobel-laureate-wole-soyinka-clocks-85-years-serving-humanity-poetically/ |date=2016 |access-date=16 July 2022 |website=Trade Newswire |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1972, his novel ''[[Season of Anomy]]'' and his ''Collected Plays'' were both published by [[Oxford University Press]]. His powerful autobiographical work ''[[The Man Died]]'', a collection of notes from prison, was also published that year.<ref>[https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1986/soyinka/biographical/ "Wole Soyinka | Biographical"], The Nobel Prize, 1986.</ref> He was awarded an [[Honoris Causa]] doctorate by the University of Leeds in 1973.<ref>[https://lucas.leeds.ac.uk/article/honorary-degree/ "Honorary Degree"], Leeds ''African Studies Bulletin'' 19 (November 1973), pp. 1–2. [Professor Soyinka receiving the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters from the Chancellor, HRH the Duchess of Kent, on Thursday 17 May 1973 – image from 'Nobel Prize for Leeds Graduate', ''The Reporter'' (the University of Leeds), 258, 24 October 1986.]</ref> In the same year the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]], London, commissioned and premiered the play ''The Bacchae of Euripides'',<ref name="K&R"/> and his plays ''Camwood on the Leaves'' and ''Jero's Metamorphosis'' were also first published. From 1973 to 1975, Soyinka spent time on scientific studies.{{Clarify|date=April 2012}} He spent a year as a visiting fellow at [[Churchill College, Cambridge]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2005/nov/03/theatre3 |title=Wole Soyinka on how he came to write Death and the King's Horseman |first=Andrew |last=Gumbel |newspaper=The Guardian |date=3 November 2005}}</ref> (1973–74)<ref name=Encyclopedia.com /> and wrote ''Death and the King's Horseman'', which had its first reading at Churchill College.

In 1974, Oxford University Press issued his ''Collected Plays, Volume II''. In 1975, Soyinka was promoted to the position of editor for ''[[Transition Magazine]]'', which was based in the Ghanaian capital of [[Accra]], where he moved.<ref name=":3" /> He used his columns in the magazine to criticise the "negrophiles" (for instance, his article "Neo-Tarzanism: The Poetics of Pseudo-Transition") and military regimes. He protested against the military junta of [[Idi Amin]] in Uganda. After the political turnover in Nigeria and the subversion of Gowon's military regime in 1975, Soyinka returned to his homeland and resumed his position as Chair of Comparative Literature at the [[University of Ife]].<ref name=":3" />

In 1976, he published his poetry collection ''Ogun Abibiman'', as well as a collection of essays entitled ''Myth, Literature and the African World''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Nobel Prize in Literature 1986 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1986/soyinka/facts/ |access-date=29 September 2020 |website=NobelPrize.org |language=en-US}}</ref> In these, Soyinka explores the genesis of mysticism in African theatre and, using examples from both European and African literature, compares and contrasts the cultures. He delivered a series of guest lectures at the [[Institute of African Studies]] at the [[University of Ghana]] in [[Legon]]. In October 1976, the French version of ''The Dance of The Forests'' was performed in [[Dakar]], while in Ife, his play ''Death and The King's Horseman'' premiered.

In 1977, ''Opera Wọnyọsi'', his adaptation of [[Bertolt Brecht]]'s ''[[The Threepenny Opera]]'', was staged in Ibadan. In 1979, Soyinka both directed and acted in [[Jon Blair]] and [[Norman Felton|Norman Fenton]]'s drama ''The Biko Inquest'', a work based on the life of [[Steve Biko]], a South African student and human rights activist who was beaten to death by [[apartheid]] police forces.<ref name=Encyclopedia.com /> In 1981 Soyinka published his autobiographical work ''[[Aké: The Years of Childhood]]'', which won a 1983 [[Anisfield-Wolf Book Award]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.anisfield-wolf.org/winners/ake-the-years-of-childhood/ |title=Winners: 1983 Nonfiction – Ake |website=Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards |access-date=9 April 2021}}</ref>

Soyinka went on to establish another theatrical group, the Guerrilla Unit, which sought to engage directly with local communities. Its purpose was to help them reflect on their challenges and give voice to their grievances through short dramatic performances. In 1983, his play ''Requiem for a Futurologist'' had its first performance at the University of Ife. In July that year, one of his musical projects, the Unlimited Liability Company, issued a long-playing record entitled ''I Love My Country'', on which several prominent Nigerian musicians played songs composed by Soyinka. In 1984, he directed the film ''Blues for a Prodigal'', which was screened at the University of Ife.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03064228508533902 |title=Wole Soyinka's film banned |journal=[[Index on Censorship]] |first=James |last=Gibbs |date=1985 |volume=14 |issue=3 |page=41 |doi=10.1080/03064228508533902 |s2cid=220929276 |via=[[SAGE Publishing]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref> His ''A Play of Giants'' was produced the same year.

During the years 1975–84, Soyinka was more politically active. At the University of Ife, his administrative duties included the security of public roads. He criticized the corruption in the government of the democratically elected President [[Shehu Shagari]]. When Shagari was replaced by the army general [[Muhammadu Buhari]], Soyinka was often at odds with the military. In 1984, a Nigerian court banned his 1972 book ''[[The Man Died: Prison Notes]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xkJdDwAAQBAJ&q=%22the+man+died%22+soyinka+banned+1984&pg=PA17 |title=Wole Soyinka |author=Gibbs |publisher=Macmillan |year=1986 |isbn=9781349182091 |pages=16–17}}</ref> In 1985, his play ''Requiem for a Futurologist'' was published in London by [[Rex Collings]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Soyinka |first=Wole |url=https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/106708/Details? |title=Requiem for a futurologist |date=1985 |publisher=Rex Collings |isbn=978-0-86036-207-4 |location=London}}</ref>

===Nobel Prize laureate===
{{Main|1986 Nobel Prize in Literature}}
Soyinka was awarded the [[Nobel Prize for Literature]] in 1986,<ref>[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1986/soyinka.html "The Nobel Prize in Literature 1986 | Wole Soyinka"], Nobelprize.org, 23 August 2010.</ref><ref name=Chronology>{{cite web |url=http://www.postcolonialweb.org/soyinka/soyinkatl.html |title=Wole Soyinka: A Chronology |website=African Postcolonial Literature in English |access-date=28 September 2021}}</ref> becoming the first African laureate. He was described as one "who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence". Reed Way Dasenbrock writes that the award of the Nobel Prize in Literature to Soyinka is "likely to prove quite controversial and thoroughly deserved". He also notes that "it is the first Nobel Prize awarded to an African writer or to any writer from the 'new literatures' in English that have emerged in the former colonies of the British Empire."<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40142439 |title=Wole Soyinka's Nobel Prize |journal=[[World Literature Today]] |first=Reed Way |last=Dasenbrock |volume=61 |issue=1 |date=January 1987 |pages=4–9 |jstor=40142439}}</ref> His Nobel acceptance speech, "This Past Must Address Its Present", was devoted to South African freedom-fighter [[Nelson Mandela]]. Soyinka's speech was an outspoken criticism of [[apartheid]] and the politics of racial segregation imposed on the majority by the [[National Party (South Africa)|National]] South African government.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}

===Later years===
[[File:WoleSoyinka2015.jpg|thumb|Soyinka in 2015]]
In 1988, his collection of poems ''Mandela's Earth, and Other Poems'' was published, while in Nigeria another collection of essays, entitled ''Art, Dialogue and Outrage: Essays on Literature and Culture'', appeared. In the same year, Soyinka accepted the position of Professor of African Studies and Theatre at [[Cornell University]].<ref name="Liukkonen">{{cite web |url=http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/soyinka.htm |title=Wole Soyinka |website=Books and Writers |first=Petri |last=Liukkonen |publisher=[[Kuusankoski]] Public Library |location=Finland |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202210200/http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/soyinka.htm |archive-date=2 February 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1989, a third novel, inspired by his father's intellectual circle, ''Ìsarà: A Voyage around Essay'', appeared ("Essay" being the nickname of his father S. A. Soyinka). In July 1991, the [[BBC World Service#Africa|BBC African Service]] transmitted Soyinka's radio play ''A Scourge of Hyacinths'', and the next year (1992) in [[Siena]] (Italy), his play ''[[From Zia with Love]]'' had its premiere.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Soyinka |first=Wole |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iZ_SAAAAIAAJ |title=From Zia, with Love; And, A Scourge of Hyacinths |date=1992 |publisher=Methuen Drama |isbn=978-0-413-67240-7 |language=en}}</ref> Both works are very bitter political parodies, based on events that took place in Nigeria in the 1980s. In 1993, Soyinka was awarded an honorary doctorate from [[Harvard University]]. The following year, another part of his autobiography appeared: ''[[Ibadan]]: The Penkelemes Years (A Memoir: 1946–1965)''. In 1995, his play, ''The Beatification of Area Boy,'' was published. In October 1994, he was appointed [[UNESCO]] Goodwill Ambassador for the Promotion of African culture, human rights, freedom of expression, media and communication.<ref name=":2">{{cite book |first=Peter |last=Benson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5gIQK1isP6cC&dq=transition%20orpheus&pg=PA30 |title=Black Orpheus, Transition, and Modern Cultural Awakening in Africa |publisher=University of California Press |date=1986 |page=30 |isbn=9780520054189}}</ref>

In November 1994, Soyinka fled from Nigeria on a motorcycle via the border with [[Benin]],<ref name="The voice of conscience">{{cite news |first=Maya |last=Jaggi |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/may/28/hayfestival2007.hayfestival |title=The voice of conscience |newspaper=The Guardian |date=28 May 2007}}</ref> and then went to the United States.<ref>{{Cite news |last=French |first=Howard W. |date=13 March 1997 |title=Nigerian Nobel Winner Faces Treason Charges |language=en-US |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/13/world/nigerian-nobel-winner-faces-treason-charges.html |access-date=22 May 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In 1996, his book ''The Open Sore of a Continent: A Personal Narrative of the Nigerian Crisis'' was first published. In 1997, he was charged with treason by the government of General [[Sani Abacha]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/13/world/nigerian-nobel-winner-faces-treason-charges.html |title=Nigerian Nobel Winner Faces Treason Charges |first=Howard W. |last=French |newspaper=The New York Times |date=13 March 1997}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1997/03/13/nigerian-nobelist-charged-with-treason/8ec258ba-0f45-41dc-910d-494556e24827/ |title=Nigerian novelist charged with treason |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=13 March 1997|agency=Reuter}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/nobel-winner-charged-with-treason-1272509.html |title=Nobel winner charged with treason |first=James |last=Roberts |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=23 October 2011}}</ref> The International Parliament of Writers (IPW) was established in 1993 to provide support for writers victimized by persecution. Soyinka became the organization's second president, serving in the role from 1997 to 2000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://catalog.sevenstories.com/collections/international-parliament-of-writers |publisher=Seven Stories Press |title=International Parliament of Writers |access-date=6 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://townsendcenter.berkeley.edu/events/wole-soyinka-writer |title=Wole Soyinka, Writer 'Rights and Relativity: The Interplay of Cultures' |publisher=Avenali lecture; [[The University of California, Berkeley]] |date=1 February 2010 |access-date=26 December 2013}}</ref> In 1999, a new volume of poems by Soyinka, entitled ''Outsiders'', was released. That same year, a BBC-commissioned play called ''Document of Identity'' aired on [[BBC Radio 3]], telling the lightly-fictionalized story of the problems his daughter's family encountered during a stopover in [[Great Britain|Britain]] when they fled Nigeria for the US in 1996; her son, Oseoba Airewele was born in [[Luton]] and became a stateless person.<ref name=Ousting>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/nov/02/theatre.artsfeatures |first=Maya |last=Jaggi |author-link=Maya Jaggi |title=Ousting monsters |newspaper=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |date=2 November 2002 |access-date=4 October 2016}}</ref>

Soyinka's play ''King Baabu'' premièred in Lagos in 2001,<ref name="Ibagere">{{cite web|first=Eniwoke|last=Ibagere|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1476167.stm |title=Nigeria's Soyinka back on stage|publisher=BBC News|date=6 August 2005}}</ref> a political satire on the theme of African dictatorship.<ref name="Ibagere"/> In 2002, a collection of his poems entitled ''Samarkand and Other Markets I Have Known'' was published by [[Methuen Publishing|Methuen]]. In April 2006, his memoir ''You Must Set Forth at Dawn'' was published by [[Random House Publishing|Random House]]. In 2006 he cancelled his keynote speech for the annual [[S.E.A. Write Award]]s Ceremony in [[Bangkok]] to protest the [[2006 Thailand coup|Thai military's successful coup against the government]].<ref>S. P. Somtow, [http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/11/16/opinion/opinion_30019095.php "Why artistic freedom matters"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930004310/http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/11/16/opinion/opinion_30019095.php |date=30 September 2007 }}, ''The Nation'', 16 November 2006.</ref>

In April 2007, Soyinka called for the cancellation of the Nigerian presidential elections held two weeks earlier, beset by widespread fraud and violence.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Obinna |last=Oke |website=GbaramatuVoice |date=12 August 2017 |title=Opinion: Prof. Wole Soyinka is 'Dead' |url=https://www.gbaramatuvoicenews.com/opinion-prof-wole-soyinka-is-dead/ |access-date=23 May 2022 |language=en-GB}}</ref> In the wake of the [[Northwest Airlines Flight 253|attempted bombing on a Northwest Airlines flight to the United States]] by a Nigerian student who had become radicalised in Britain, Soyinka questioned the [[Government of the United Kingdom|British government]]'s social logic in allowing every religion to openly proselytise their faith, asserting that it was being abused by religious fundamentalists, thereby turning England into, in his view, a cesspit for the breeding of extremism.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wole Soyinka |url=https://www.pressreader.com/nigeria/thisday-style/20170226/281913067888076 |access-date=21 March 2023 |date=26 February 2017 |publisher=Nigeria News |language=en |via=[[PressReader]]}}</ref> He supported the freedom of worship, but warned against the consequence of the illogic of allowing religions to preach apocalyptic violence.<ref>{{cite news |first=Duncan |last=Gardham |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/7130597/Nobel-laureate-Wole-Soyinka-says-England-is-cesspit-of-extremism.html |title=Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka says England is 'cesspit' of extremism |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=1 February 2010}}</ref>

In August 2014, Soyinka delivered a recording of his speech "From Chibok with Love" to the [[World Humanist Congress]] in [[Oxford]], hosted by the [[International Humanist and Ethical Union]] and the [[British Humanist Association]].<ref>{{Cite web | website=LifeAndTimes News |date=30 June 2017 |title=Nigeria's Renowned Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka |url=https://lifeandtimesnews.com/nigerias-renowned-nobel-laureate-wole-soyinka/ |access-date=23 May 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref> The Congress theme was ''Freedom of thought and expression: Forging a 21st Century Enlightenment''. He was awarded the 2014 [[International Humanist Award]].<ref name="WHC1">{{Cite web |url=http://iheu.org/wole-soyinkas-international-humanist-award-acceptance-speech-full-text/ |title=Wole Soyinka's International Humanist Award acceptance speech – full text |date=12 August 2014 |access-date=4 March 2015 |publisher=International Humanist and Ethical Union}}</ref><ref name="WHC2">{{cite web |url=https://humanism.org.uk/2014/08/10/wole-soyinka-wins-international-humanist-award/ |title=Wole Soyinka wins International Humanist Award |publisher=British Humanist Association |date=10 August 2014 |access-date=4 March 2015}}</ref> He served as Arts Professor of Theatre at [[NYU]]'s Institute of African American Affairs.<ref name=NYU>[https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2016/september/nobel-laureate-soyinka-at-nyu-for-events-in-october.html "Nobel Laureate Soyinka at NYU for Events in October"], News Release, NYU, 16 September 2016.</ref>

In December 2020, Soyinka described [[2020 in Nigeria|2020]] as the most challenging year in the nation's history, saying: "With the turbulence that characterised year 2020, and as activities wind down, the mood has been repugnant and very negative. I don't want to sound pessimistic, but this is one of the most pessimistic years I have known in this nation and it wasn't just because of [[Coronavirus disease 2019|COVID-19]]. Natural disasters had happened elsewhere, but how have you managed to take such in their strides?"<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 December 2020 |title=No one's in charge of Nigeria — Soyinka |url=https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/12/no-ones-in-charge-of-nigeria-soyinka/ |access-date=8 February 2021 |website=Vanguard News |language=en-US}}</ref>

September 2021 saw the publication of ''Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth'', Soyinka's first novel in almost 50 years, described in the ''[[Financial Times]]'' as "a brutally satirical look at power and corruption in Nigeria, told in the form of a whodunnit involving three university friends."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/53f5062e-0836-472d-9f25-93785b644f41 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/53f5062e-0836-472d-9f25-93785b644f41 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |title=Wole Soyinka on Nigeria: 'It's like something has broken in society' |newspaper=Financial Times |first=Neil |last=Munshi |date=22 September 2021}}</ref> Reviewing the book in ''The Guardian'', [[Ben Okri]] said: "It is Soyinka's greatest novel, his revenge against the insanities of the nation's ruling class and one of the most shocking chronicles of an African nation in the 21st century. It ought to be widely read."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/sep/27/chronicles-from-the-land-of-the-happiest-people-on-earth-by-wole-soyinka-review-a-vast-danse-macabre |title=Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth by Wole Soyinka review – a vast danse macabre |newspaper=The Guardian |first=Ben |last=Okri |date=27 September 2021}}</ref>

The [[film adaptation]] by [[Biyi Bandele]] of Soyinka's 1975 stage play ''[[Death and the King's Horseman]]'', co-produced by [[Netflix]] and [[Ebonylife TV]], titled ''[[Elesin Oba, The King's Horseman]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |last=Agency Report |date=12 June 2018 |title=Film adaptation of Wole Soyinka's 'Death and the King's Horseman' underway |url=https://www.premiumtimesng.com/entertainment/nollywood/272076-film-adaptation-of-wole-soyinkas-death-and-the-kings-horseman-underway.html |access-date=1 August 2022 |website=Premium Times Nigeria |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=12 June 2020 |title=Netflix, Mo Abudu Partner For Adaptation of Soyinka and Shoneyin's Books |url=https://guardian.ng/life/netflix-mo-abudu-partner-for-adaptation-of-soyinka-and-shoneyins-books/ |first=Michael |last=Bamidele |access-date=1 August 2022 |website=The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Nwogu |first=Precious 'Mamazeus' |date=26 October 2021 |title=Biyi Bandele to direct Ebonylife & Netflix's 'Death and the King's Horseman' |url=https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/movies/biyi-bandele-to-direct-ebonylife-and-netflixs-death-and-the-kings-horseman/wxeff17 |access-date=1 August 2022 |website=Pulse Nigeria}}</ref> premiered at the [[Toronto International Film Festival]] (TIFF) in September 2022. It is Soyinka's first work to be made into a feature film internationally, and the first [[Yoruba-language]] film to premiere at TIFF.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Aromolaran |first=Michael |date=30 July 2022 |title=Netflix Releases Teaser for 'Elesin Oba: The King's Horseman' |url=https://culturecustodian.com/netflix-releases-teaser-for-elesin-oba-the-kings-horseman/ |access-date=1 August 2022 |website=The Culture Custodian |language=en-GB}}</ref>

===Religion===
In November 2022, during a public presentation of his two-volume collection of essays, Soyinka said in relation to religion:

<blockquote>"Do I really need one (religion)? I have never felt I needed one. I am a [[mythologist]]... No, I don't worship any deity. But I consider deities as creatively real and therefore my companions in my journey in both the real world and the imaginative world."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dailypost.ng/2022/11/21/i-dont-need-religion-wole-soyinka/?amp=1 |title=I don't need religion - Wole Soyinka |first=Francis |last=Ugwu |work=Daily Post |date=21 November 2022}}</ref></blockquote>

Around July 2023, Soyinka came under severe criticism, after writing an open letter to the Emir of Ilorin, [[Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari]], over the cancellation of the Isese festival proposed by an ''Osun'' priestess, Omolara Olatunji.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ahmed |first=Buhari Olanrewaju |date=9 July 2023 |title=Kwara Born Islamic Scholar, Blasts Soyinka Over Comment On Emir Of Ilorin |url=https://afrikaeyes.com/kwara-born-islamic-scholar-blasts-soyinka-over-comment-on-emir-of-ilorin/ |access-date=2 August 2023 |website=Afrika Eyes |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Caroline Davis CIA allegation ===
{{Undue weight|date=August 2025|section|reason=the allegations by one individual may not warrant an entire section of the article.}}
In a book published in 2020, University College London academic Caroline Davis examined archival evidence of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) funding of African authors in the post-independence period.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davis |first=Caroline |title=African Literature and the CIA |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-108-72554-5 |edition=1st |location=Cambridge (UK)}}</ref> One chapter of the book, titled "Wole Soyinka, the Transcription Centre, and the CIA", focused specifically on Soyinka's receipt of funding from CIA front organisations such as the [[Farfield Foundation]] and the [[Transcription Centre]]. The funding supported Soyinka's publishing and the global production of some of his theatre plays. The book states that even after the CIA's covert role in some of these initiatives was revealed in the 1960s, Soyinka had "unusually close ties to the US government even to the point of frequently meeting with US intelligence in the late 1970s".

When the book was published, Soyinka vociferously denied having been a CIA agent and stated that he would "[follow the authors] to the end of the earth and to the pit of hell until I get a retraction".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Akintomide |first=Dotun |date=31 December 2020 |title=Soyinka: Why I 'll Pursue Two Female Writers To Pit Of Hell! |url=https://newdiplomatng.com/soyinka-why-pursue-two-women/ |access-date=20 September 2024 |website=New Diplomat}}</ref>

Nigerian academic Adekeye Adebajo has argued in the ''[[Johannesburg Review of Books]]'' that Davis does not directly accuse Soyinka of being a CIA agent and that Soyinka's denials are therefore also misdirected.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Adebajo |first=Adekeye |date=2 May 2022 |title=Wole Soyinka vs Caroline Davis—The CIA Controversy |url=https://johannesburgreviewofbooks.com/2022/05/02/wole-soyinka-vs-caroline-davis-the-cia-controversy-by-adekeye-adebajo/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522100939/https://johannesburgreviewofbooks.com/2022/05/02/wole-soyinka-vs-caroline-davis-the-cia-controversy-by-adekeye-adebajo/ |archive-date=22 May 2022 |access-date=20 September 2024 |website=the Johannesburg Review of Books}}</ref> Adebajo states: "Any suggestion that Soyinka was also a pro-American agent would not be borne out by his political activism, which frequently condemned US-supported Cold War clients." However, Adebajo also suggests that "for all his eloquent fervour, Soyinka has not rebutted these allegations in the detailed, evidence-based manner that could have put an end to this debate."<ref name=":4" />

=== US visa revocation ===

In October 2025, Soyinka said that the United States had revoked his visa after comments he made characterizing [[Donald Trump]] as "[[Idi Amin]] in [[wikt:whiteface|white face]]".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Griner |first1=Allison |title=Trump administration strips Nigerian Nobel winner Wole Soyinka of US visa |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/28/trump-administration-strips-nigerian-nobel-winner-wole-soyinka-of-us-visa |date=28 October 2025|access-date=29 October 2025 |work=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Rukanga |first1=Basillioh |title=Nigerian Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka says US revoked his visa |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c24lzd32yjeo |date=28 October 2025 |access-date=29 October 2025 |work=BBC |language=en}}</ref>

==Style==
Scholars, including Adeniran, have noted that Soyinka’s writings reflect his life.{{sfn|Dauda|Falola|2021|p=87}}

==Works==
{{See also|List of works by Wole Soyinka}}
* ''[[The Interpreters (novel)|The Interpreters]]'' (1965)
* ''[[Season of Anomy]]'' (1973)
* ''[[Harmattan Haze on an African Spring]]'' (2012)
* ''[[Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth]]'' (2021)

==Legacy==
===Wole Soyinka Annual Lecture Series===
The Wole Soyinka Annual Lecture Series was founded in 1994. It is dedicated "to honouring one of Nigeria and Africa's most outstanding and enduring literary icons: Wole Soyinka".<ref>{{cite web |title=Wole Soyinka Lecture Series |url=http://wolesoyinkalecture.org/about-lecture/ |publisher=National Association of Seadogs|access-date=25 November 2014}}</ref> It is organised by the [[National Association of Seadogs]].
In 2011, the African Heritage Research Library and Cultural Centre built a writers' enclave in his honour. It is located in Adeyipo Village, [[Lagelu, Oyo|Lagelu Local Government]] Area, Ibadan, [[Oyo State]], Nigeria.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Okoh |first=Lize |date=4 June 2018 |title=A Tour of Wole Soyinka's Nigeria |url=https://theculturetrip.com/africa/nigeria/articles/a-tour-of-wole-soyinkas-nigeria/ |access-date=23 May 2022 |website=Culture Trip}}</ref> The enclave includes a Writer-in-Residence Programme that enables writers to stay for a period of two, three or six months, engaging in serious creative writing. In 2013, he visited the [[Benin Moat]] as the representative of [[UNESCO]] in recognition of the Naija seven Wonders project.<ref>[http://thenationonlineng.net/new/naija-7wonders-commends-wole-soyinka-for-benin-moat-visit/ "Naija 7 wonders commends Wole Soyinka for Benin Moat visit"], ''[[The Nation]]'', 2 March 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2014.</ref> He is currently the consultant for the [[Lagos Black Heritage Festival]], with the Lagos State deeming him as the only person who could bring out the aims and objectives of the Festival to the people.<ref>[http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/lagos-black-heritage-festival-from-imitation-tune-to-indigenous-innovative-music/177609/ "Lagos Black Festival: From Imitation: Tune to Indigenous Innovative music"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101212822/http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/lagos-black-heritage-festival-from-imitation-tune-to-indigenous-innovative-music/177609/ |date=1 January 2016 }}, ''This Day Live'', 4 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.</ref> He was appointed a patron of [[Humanists UK]] in 2020.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://humanism.org.uk/2020/08/12/humanists-uk-welcomes-new-patron-wole-soyinka/ |title=Humanists UK welcomes new patron, Wole Soyinka |date=12 August 2020 |work=Humanists UK}}</ref>

In 2014, the collection ''Crucible of the Ages: Essays in Honour of Wole Soyinka at 80'', edited by [[Ivor Agyeman-Duah]] and Ogochwuku Promise, was published by Bookcraft in Nigeria and Ayebia Clarke Publishing in the UK, with tributes and contributions from [[Nadine Gordimer]], [[Toni Morrison]], [[Ama Ata Aidoo]], [[Ngugi wa Thiong'o]], [[Henry Louis Gates Jr]], [[Margaret Busby]], [[Kwame Anthony Appiah]], [[Ali Mazrui]], [[Sefi Atta]], and others.<ref>Assensoh, A. B., and Yvette M. Alex-Assensoh (25 June 2014), [http://newafricanmagazine.com/celebrating-soyinka-80/ "Celebrating Soyinka at 80"], ''[[New African]]''.</ref><ref>Akeh, Afam (22 July 2015), [https://web.archive.org/web/20150722221853/http://www.centreforafricanpoetry.org/magazine/special-soyinka-at-80 "Wole Soyinka at 80"], Centre for African Poetry.</ref>

In 2018, [[Henry Louis Gates Jr]] tweeted that Nigerian filmmaker and writer [[Onyeka Nwelue]] visited him in Harvard and was making a documentary film on Wole Soyinka.<ref>{{cite news |title=ONYEKA NWELUE'S NEW FILM FEATURE 'WOLE SOYINKA: A GOD AND THE BIAFRANS' TO BE PREVIEWED AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY JULY 13TH. |author=Adedun |url=https://simpleonline.ng/onyeka-nwelues-new-film-feature-wole-soyinka-god-biafrans-previewed-harvard-university-july-13th/ |date=18 August 2018 |access-date=18 August 2018 |work=Simple}}</ref> As part of efforts to mark his 84th birthday, a collection of poems titled ''84 Delicious Bottles of Wine'' was published for Wole Soyinka, edited by Onyeka Nwelue and Odega Shawa. Among the notable contributors was Adamu Usman Garko, award-winning teenage essayist, poet and writer.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ADAMU USMAN GARKO |url=https://www.wrr.ng/adamu-usman-garko/ |date=10 December 2018 |website=WRR PUBLISHERS LTD |language=en-US |access-date=27 May 2020}}</ref>

During a special dialogue that he hosted with him, opened by the President of the General Conference of UNESCO, Professor [[Octavian Saiu]] described Soyinka as “one of the wisest and most inspiring figures of world literature and theatre”.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wole Soyinka, Simona Miculescu in dialogue with Octavian Saiu |url=https://www.sibfest.ro/en/program/events/wole-soyinka--simona-miculescu-in-dialogue-with-octavian-saiu}}</ref>

===Critical reputation===

===Awards and honours===
{{main|List of awards and honours received by Wole Soyinka}}
Soyinka won the [[Anisfield-Wolf Book Award]] in 1983 and 2013. He rejected an honorary degree from the University of Ibadan. In 1986 he won the [[Nobel Prize for Literature]], as well as the Agip Prize for Literature. He was also confered the title of [[Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic]] by the military head of state, [[Ibrahim Babangida]]. Soyinka is a tribal aristocrat; one vested with the right to use the [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] title [[Oba (ruler)#Oloye|Oloye]] as a pre-nominal [[honorific]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tribune.com.ng/271105/news05.htm |title=Call national conference on Alamieyeseigha – Soyinka |work=Sunday Tribune |date=27 November 2005 |access-date=13 December 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060103224626/http://www.tribune.com.ng/271105/news05.htm |archive-date=3 January 2006}}</ref> In 2005, he was given a [[Nigerian chiefs|chieftaincy title]] as the "Akinlatun" of Egbaland. He was honoured with the Golden Plate Award by the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]]. It was presented to him by the Awards Council member, [[Desmond Tutu|Archbishop Desmond Tutu]] at [[St. George's Cathedral, Cape Town]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org |publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]] |url=https://www.achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/}}</ref>

In 2018, his alma mater, [[University of Ibadan]], renamed her arts theatre as Wole Soyinka Theatre.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://saharareporters.com/2018/07/30/ui-renames-its-arts-theatre-wole-soyinka-theatre |title=UI Renames Its Arts Theatre 'Wole Soyinka Theatre' |date=30 July 2018 |work=Sahara Reporters |access-date=30 July 2018}}</ref> In 2017, he received the Special Prize category of the [[Europe Theatre Prize]], in [[Rome]]. In August 2024, the President of Cuba, [[Miguel Diaz-Canel]], honoured Soyinka with the [[Haydée Santamaría]] medal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ananigeria.org/news/soyinka-honoured-by-cuban-president|title=Soyinka Honoured by Cuban President|publisher=[[Association of Nigerian Authors]]|date=1 September 2024|access-date=28 October 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://brittlepaper.com/2024/09/cuba-awards-nigerian-nobel-laureate-wole-soyinka-two-prestigious-prizes-for-lifelong-fight-for-justice/|title=Cuba Awards Nigerian Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka Two Prestigious Prizes for Lifelong Fight for Justice|website=Brittle Paper|first=Ainehi|last=Edoro|author-link=Ainehi Edoro|date=23 September 2024|access-date=28 October 2025}}</ref>

In commemoration of Nigeria's 65th Independence Day Anniversary on 1 October 2025, President [[Bola Tinubu|Bola Ahmed Tinubu]] renamed the [[National Theatre, Nigeria|National Theatre]] as Wole Soyinka Center for Culture and Creative Arts. The event was graced by dignitaries cutting across government, business, traditional and the creative industry, among others.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeWRLYsh6YQ|title=Tinubu Inaugurates Renovated Wole Soyinka Centre For Culture And Creative Arts {{!}} Full Video|publisher=Channels Television|via=YouTube|date=2 October 2025|access-date=28 October 2025}}</ref>

==References==
===Notes===
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite journal | last=Gibbs | first=James | title=Biography Into Autobiography: Wole Soyinka and the Relatives Who Inhabit 'Ake' | journal=[[The Journal of Modern African Studies]] | volume=26 | issue=3 | date=1988 | pages=517–548 | issn=0022-278X | doi=10.1017/S0022278X00011757}}
* {{cite journal | last=Maduakor | first=Obi | title=Autobiography As literature : The Case of Wale Soyinka's Childhood Memories, « Ake » | journal=[[Présence Africaine]] | volume=137-138 | issue=1 | date=1 March 1986 | pages=227–240 | issn=0032-7638 | doi=10.3917/presa.137.0227|ref={{sfnref|Maduakor|1986}}}}
* {{cite web | last=Ogunyemi | first=Ernest | title=52 Books in 64 Years: Your Guide to Wole Soyinka's Body of Work | website=Open Country Mag | date=15 July 2021 | url=https://opencountrymag.com/52-books-in-64-years-your-guide-to-all-work-by-wole-soyinka/ | access-date=26 January 2025}}
* {{cite web | title=Nobel Laureate Soyinka's Daughter Dies | website=Sahara Reporters | date=29 December 2013 | url=https://saharareporters.com/2013/12/29/nobel-laureate-soyinka%E2%80%99s-daughter-dies | ref={{sfnref|Sahara Reporters|2013}} | access-date=26 January 2025}}
* {{cite book | last1=Dauda | first1=Bola | last2=Falola | first2=Toyin | title=Wole Soyinka: Literature, Activism, and African Transformation | publisher=Bloomsbury academic | publication-place=New York | date=7 October 2021 | isbn=978-1-5013-7576-7}}
* {{cite web | title=Biography, Plays, Books, & Facts | website=Encyclopedia Britannica | date=31 December 2024 | url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wole-Soyinka | ref={{sfnref|Encyclopedia Britannica|2024}} | access-date=17 February 2025}}
* {{cite journal | last=Lindfors | first=Bernth | title=Popular Literature for an African Elite | journal=The Journal of Modern African Studies | publisher=Cambridge University Press | volume=12 | issue=3 | year=1974 | issn=0022-278X | jstor=159945 | pages=471–486 | doi=10.1017/S0022278X00009745 | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/159945 | access-date=17 February 2025| url-access=subscription }}
* {{cite book |editor-first=James |editor-last=Gibbs |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vEgbYQ3Ly2cC&dq=Keffi%27s+Birthday+Treat+%281954%29+soyinka&pg=PA21 |title=Critical Perspectives on Wole Soyinka |publisher=Three Continents Press |date=1980|isbn=9780914478492}}
* {{cite book | last=Jeyifo | first=Biodun | title=Wole Soyinka: Politics, Poetics, and Postcolonialism | publisher=Cambridge University Press | date=13 November 2003 | isbn=978-0-521-39486-4 | doi=10.1017/cbo9780511486593.011}}
* {{cite web | last=Flood | first=Alison | title=Wole Soyinka to publish first novel in almost 50 years | website=the Guardian | date=28 October 2020 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/oct/28/wole-soyinka-to-publish-first-novel-in-almost-50-years-chronicles-of-the-happiest-people-on-earth | access-date=17 February 2025}}
* {{cite web | last=Wiegand | first=Chris | title=The Royal Court at 60: look back in wonder | website=the Guardian | date=24 March 2016 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/mar/24/the-royal-court-at-60-look-back-in-wonder | access-date=17 February 2025}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote|Wole Soyinka}}
*[https://id.lib.harvard.edu/alma/990084124760203941/catalog Wole Soyinka papers, circa 1936-2013] at [[Houghton Library]], [[Harvard University]]
*{{C-SPAN|49323}}
* {{Nobelprize}}
* [http://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/soyinka/ Soyinka's Profile] at [[Stanford University]]

{{Wole Soyinka}}
{{John Whiting Award}}
{{Nobel Prize in Literature Laureates 1976-2000}}
{{1986 Nobel Prize winners}}
{{Mondello Prize}}

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