# Wole Soyinka

> The first African awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, handed to him in 1986 for work the Swedish Academy called a drama of existence with poetic overtones. His plays, novels, and poems pull from Yoruba tradition and Nigeria's fractured political life - satire that lands because it's rooted.

*Nigerian writer (born 1934)*

**Canonical URL:** https://fame.am/person/wole-soyinka

## Identity
- **Profile type:** Writer / Author
- **Category:** Writers
- **Country:** Nigeria
- **Born:** 1934-07-13
- **Status:** living
- **Gender:** male

## Bio

Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka was born 13 July 1934 into an Anglican Yoruba family in Aké, Abeokuta. He studied at Government College, Ibadan, then University College Ibadan, where he co-founded the Pyrate Confraternity, before leaving for the University of Leeds. In England he edited the university magazine and began writing short stories and recording for the BBC, turning full-time author in the 1950s. Early plays like The Invention (1957), The Swamp Dwellers (1958), and The Lion and the Jewel (1959) were staged at the Royal Court Theatre and on Nigerian radio. Novels followed - The Interpreters (1965), Season of Anomy (1973) - alongside poetry collections, memoirs, and the play Death and the King's Horseman, all threaded with Nigeria's history and his own satirical edge. In July 2024, on his 90th birthday, President Bola Tinubu renamed the National Arts Theatre after him.

## Fame
- **Popularity score:** 68.1 / 100
- **Momentum:** 0.1 / 100  (trend: FALLING)
- **Historical depth:** 24.6 / 100
- **Attention shift:** 10.6 / 100
- **Source confidence:** 70.0 / 100
- **Profile completeness:** 80.0 / 100
- **Country rank:** #16
- **Category rank:** #230

## Platforms
- **IMDB**: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0816432/ (@nm0816432)
- **WEBSITE**: https://www.wolesoyinkafoundation.org/

## Timeline
- **2023** - Golden Magnolia
- **2017** - Europe Theatre Prize
- **2000** - Honorary Doctorate of the University of Cape Town
- **1996** - Honorary Doctorate from the University of Paris-VII
- **1991** - Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences
- **1990** - Benson Medal
- **1985** - Honorary Doctorate from the University of Montpellier-III
- **1983** - Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards
- **1934** - Born

## Sources
- [渥雷·索因卡](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B8%A5%E9%9B%B7%C2%B7%E7%B4%A2%E5%9B%A0%E5%8D%A1)
- [Wole Soyinka](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka)
- [Wole Soyinka](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka)
- [Wole Soyinka](https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka)
- [Wole Soyinka](https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka)
- [Wole Soyinka](https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka)
- [Шойинка, Воле](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A8%D0%BE%D0%B9%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%B0%2C_%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B5)
- [ウォーレ・ショインカ](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A6%E3%82%A9%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AC%E3%83%BB%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%82%AB)
- [وله سوینکا](https://azb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%D9%84%D9%87_%D8%B3%D9%88%DB%8C%D9%86%DA%A9%D8%A7)
- [Vole Şoyinka](https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vole_%C5%9Eoyinka)
- [Воле Шайінка](https://be_x_old.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B5_%D0%A8%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%96%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%B0)
- [Воле Шайінка](https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B5_%D0%A8%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%96%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%B0)
- [Уоле Шоинка](https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A3%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B5_%D0%A8%D0%BE%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%B0)
- [ওলে সোয়েনকা](https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%93%E0%A6%B2%E0%A7%87_%E0%A6%B8%E0%A7%8B%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%BE)
- [Wole Soyinka](https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka)
- [Wole Soyinka](https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka)
- [Wole Soyinka](https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka)
- [Wole Soyinka](https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka)
- [Wole Soyinka](https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka)
- [Wole Soyinka](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka)
- [Ουόλε Σογίνκα](https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%9F%CF%85%CF%8C%CE%BB%CE%B5_%CE%A3%CE%BF%CE%B3%CE%AF%CE%BD%CE%BA%CE%B1)
- [Wole Soyinka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka)
- [Wole Soyinka](https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka)
- [Wole Soyinka](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka)
- [Wole Soyinka](https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka)
- [Wole Soyinka](https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka)
- [Wikiquote](https://cs.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka)
- [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka)
- [Wikiquote](https://es.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka)
- [Wikiquote](https://fr.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka)

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