Wole Soyinka At 87: 5 Remarkable Books By The Nigerian Nobel Leaureate

Renowned Nigerian writer Professor Wole Soyinka clocks 87 today, and while celebrating one of the greatest literary minds to emerge from the African continent, we take a look at five of his greatest works.

Before delving into Soyinka's remarkable writings, we will briefly explore his beginnings and his rise to the top of the literary ladder.

Background

Prof. Wole Soyinka

Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka was born on July 13, 1934, in Ogun State, Nigeria, the second in a family of seven children. 

He grew up in a very religious household and attended church services, singing in the choir at an early age. However, he became an atheist later in life as he turned his back on religion in its entirety.

Soyinka attended St. Peter's Primary School in Abeokuta and then Abeokuta Grammar School, where he clinched prizes for literary composition.

Soyinka as a young man

He had his secondary education at Government College, Ibadan, and proceeded to the University College Ibadan where he bagged a degree in English Literature, Greek, and Western History.

Soyinka furthered his studies in English Literature at the University of Leeds in England. After the completion of his studies, he started his writing career.

For his contribution to the Arts, he was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature (he is the first Sub-Saharan African to be honoured in that category).

In no particular order, below are some of Soyinka's best literary works:

1. The Lion and the Jewel (1959)

The Lion and the Jewel is a play that was first performed in 1959. It is the story of Baroka, a Yoruba chieftain, who fights with the young and educated Lakunle for the love of the belle Sidi (the titular Jewel).

Rich with Soyinka's traditional subtleties, with the theme of modernism versus tradition, the play was lauded by critics and The Times said it established Nigeria "as the most fertile new source of English-speaking drama since Synge's discovery of the Western Isles."

2. Death and the King's Horseman (1975)

Set during the colonial era in Nigeria, this play explores a tradition in which Elesin, the horseman of the ruler of the clan, is mandated to commit ritual suicide after the king's passing.

What sets Death and the King's Horseman apart is the prominence of Yoruba proverbs which the different characters use in the narrative. Like some other African books, it looks at the clash between the indigenous culture and the effects of colonial rule.

3. The Strong Breed (1964)

This is one of Soyinka's best-known plays. It is an evocative literary work that centers on Eman, the protagonist, who takes the role of the "carrier" (someone who has to rid it of its evils). He develops cold feet and flees before the ritual is completed, resulting in inevitable doom.

The Strong Breed is a tragedy that tackles the tradition of Egugun, the Yoruba festival about a scapegoat who expunges the ills of the society and is exiled from civilization. It is undoubtedly one of the writer's most remarkable works.

4. Madmen and Specialists (1970)

Conceived at a time when Soyinka was in prison during the Nigerian Civil War, Madmen and Specialists is a grim depiction of man's inhumanity and corruption in the structures of power.

Regarded as one of the writer's most pessimistic books, it tells the story of Dr. Bero who imprisons and torments his father, a physician.

5. A Dance of the Forests (1960)

One of Soyinka's most recognizable books, A Dance of the Forests was enacted at the Nigerian Independence celebrations in 1960. 

It is seen as the most complex of the writer's plays. Its plot presents a new Africa, free of colonial influence. Politicians who watched its theatrical performance were angry as Soyinka's portrayal of post-colonial Nigerian politics was shown as aimless and corrupt.