Wole Soyinka

Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka is a Nigerian playwright, poet and writer, born in 1934 into an Anglican Yoruba family in Ake, Abeokuta, who was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature for what the citation called his wide cultural perspective and poetic overtones fashioning the drama of existence, becoming the first African laureate. Educated at University College Ibadan and the University of Leeds, he built a career spanning three novels, twenty five plays, several poetry collections and five memoirs, with many of his works set in Nigeria and reflecting the country's history, culture and political struggles. His plays, including The Swamp Dwellers (1958) and The Lion and the Jewel (1959), were staged in both Nigeria and Britain, including at London's Royal Court Theatre, alongside a substantial body of satirical writing.