"5 DAYS WRITING CHALLENGE-MEET A GENIUS(AKINWANDE OLUWOLE BABATUNDE SOYINKA)" DAY 5

BACKGROUND/PROFILE

Source

PROFESSOR WOLE SOYINKA who is a Nigerian and well known as a playwright alongside being a novelist, poet, and Author was born in Abeokuta, Ondo State in Nigeria on the 13th of July 1934. He is the second of Seven children. He has been first cousin to the famous and prolific Nigeria Music artist Fela Kuti.
Prof. Soyinka has been raised in a religious family, attending church services and singing in the choir from an early age.
Prof. Soyinka is married to Folake Doherty since 1989 but has been married before to a british writer Barbara Dixon in 1958 & Olaide Idowu a Nigerian librarian in 1963 before ending up Folake.

His Education-
• St. Peter's Primary School, Abeokuta.
• Abeokuta Grammar School.
• Government College, Ibadan.
• University College Ibadan.
• University of London.
• University of Leeds, England.
He studied English literature, Greek, and Western history.

CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS-

In December 2017, he was awarded the Europe Theatre Prize in the "Special Prize" category awarded to someone who has "contributed to the realization of cultural events that promote understanding and the exchange of knowledge between peoples".
He first taught at Cornell University as Goldwin Smith professor for African Studies and Theatre Arts from 1988 to 1991. Prof. Soyinka has been a Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and has served as scholar-in-residence at NYU's Institute of African American Affairs and at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.
Prof. Soyinka was a Professor of Comparative literature (1975 to 1999) at the Obafemi Awolowo University.

Awards
•Nobel Prize in Literature being the first African to be honoured in that category 1986
•Benson Medal from Royal Society of Literature 1990
•Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award 2009
•Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, Lifetime Achievement 2012

Soyinka writes in English, but his works are rooted in his native Nigeria and the Yoruba culture, with its legends, tales, and traditions

Source

He has published hundreds of his works. A few to mention which includes; Essays, Films, Poetry Collections, Memoirs, short stories, novels, plays-

•Keffi's Birthday Treat (1954)
•The Invention (1957)
•The Swamp Dwellers (1958)
•A Quality of Violence (1959)[105]
•The Lion and the Jewel (1959)
•The Trials of Brother Jero (1960)
•A Dance of the Forests (1960)
•My Father's Burden (1960)
•The Strong Breed (1964)
•Before the Blackout (1964)
•Kongi's Harvest (1964)
•The Road (1965)
•The Beatification of Area Boy (1996)
•Document of Identity (radio play, 1999)
•King Baabu (2001)
•Etiki Revu Wetin
•Alapata Apata (2011)
•The Interpreters (1965)
•Season of Anomy (1972)
•A Tale of Two (1958)
•Egbe's Sworn Enemy (1960)
•Isara: A Voyage around Essay (1990)
•You Must Set Forth at Dawn (2006)
•Ogun Abibiman (1976)
•Mandela's Earth and other poems (1988)
•Early Poems (1997)
•Culture in Transition
•Blues for a Prodigal
•A Voice That Would Not Be Silenced
•Art, Dialogue, and Outrage: Essays on Literature and Culture (1988)

CONCLUSION!

While at university, Soyinka and six others founded the Pyrates Confraternity in 1952, an anti-corruption and justice-seeking student organisation, the first confraternity in Nigeria..
Today, there are still active Pyrates confraternities throughout Nigeria and in other parts of the world, such as London, Japan and Houston whose Activities are still non-violent in nature.

Wole Soyinka who was also a Political Activist was imprisoned for 22 months as ensued between the Federal government of Nigeria and the Biafrans.
Though refused materials such as books, pens, and paper, he still wrote a significant body of poems and notes criticising the Nigerian government while in prison.
Despite his imprisonment, his play The Lion and The Jewel was produced in Accra, Ghana, in September 1967.

Wole Soyinka is very much alive to this present day.
His works has spread throughout ages and has made great effect in humanity and civilization.

EPILOGUE
It has been Indeed awesome participating in this Contest from DAY 1 to this very Last DAY 5, I must confess.
I've been exposed to knowledge and a vast range of seeing differently.
A big Shout out & Thank you @Steemalive for putting this up.
I'm indeed glad to be part of this move.