Wole Soyinka: An Appraisal

by Adewale Maja-Pearce (editor)

Conceived as a "fitting tribute" to the Nigerian writer on his 60th birthday, this collection is an effort to engage with Soyinka and his work at the critical level his achievement requires. The contributors, distinguished writers themselves, approach their task with eloquent analysis and thoughtful criticism.

166 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Samir Rawas Sarayji · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of insightful essays on Soyinka or his work by fellow academics and/or authors.

The collection includes Soyinka's 'Nobel Lecture 1986: This Past Must Address Its Present' acceptance speech. Ironically, of all the essays here, it was my least favorite. Soyinka focuses heavily on the Apartheid situation in South Africa in the lecture, nothing wrong with that of course, but I had wanted more about his journey or process or path to success, or even his difficulties with the political elements in his home country, Nigeria. However, he did frame my expectation in the most unusual relationship to the crises in South Africa as follows:

That world which is so conveniently traduced by Apartheid thought is of course that which I so wholeheartedly embrace, and this is my choice – among several options – of the significance of my presence here. It is a world that nourishes my being, one which is so self-sufficient, so replete in all aspects of its productivity, so confident in itself and in its destiny that it experiences no fear in reaching out to others and in responding to the reach of others. It is the heartstone of our creative existence. It constitutes the prism of our world perception and this means that our sight need not be and has never been permanently turned inwards.

Soyinka has a knack for explaining Africanness in the Euro-Christian language, and while some African critics deride him for this, I find it to be a skilled ability of communication, rather than that he succumbs to the Eurocentric point of view:

The pre-colonial history of African societies – and I refer to both Euro-Christian and Arab-Islamic colonisation – indicates very clearly that African societies never at any time of their existence went to war with another over the issue of their religion. That is, at no time did the black race attempt to subjugate or forcibly convert others with any holier-than-thou evangelising zeal. Economic and political motives, yes. But not religion.

'The Complexity of Freedom' is an essay by Wilson Harris that address Soyinka's play The Road by framing it in comparison to three major talents: Picasso, Henry Moore, and Joseph Conrad. Each of which had an inspiration from African tradition that Harris then explores in line with the traditional narratives that Soyinka works from.

Nadine Gordimer's short essay 'Soyinka the Tiger' is more about Soyinka's prowess as a writer and an activist, but she poignantly delves to his adopted patron deity, Ogun, and frames the context by showing the duality by which Africans live by compared to the singularity of the West:

The creation myth of Ogun belongs in the world system of human thought. Soyinka's western-educated young men and women carry these gods within them, as the thinking of western non-Africans unconsciously carries Sophocles, Christ, Descartes etc. The only difference – the big one – is that the non-Africans have no knowledge of the icons of African thought, while Africans such as Soyinka have taken the opportunity to absorb the religious, philosophical and political icons of the west.

In 'Wole Soyinka and a Living Dramatist: a Playwright's Encounter with Soyinka's Drama' Femi Osofisan paints a vivid picture of Soyinka. Having been a protegee, then a friend, and eventually a playwright in his own standing, Osofisan intermingles the personal with the professional, to render a much more human aspect of the life and work of Soyinka. I especially like Osofisan's candidness, and his fallout with Soyinka only made the appreciation, in the end, of his work more genuine. Osofisan discusses Madmen and Specialists quite well since he was involved as an actor in an early production of the play.

The novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah discusses the only two novels Soyinka ever wrote in 'The Fiction of Wole Soyinka.' His is a detailed analytical look into the characters, themes and Yoruba religion that shape the novels:

Soyinka uses Yoruba religion as metaphor both to point to the human capacity for self-transformation, and to measure the interpreters against it, and demonstrate their weaknesses.

Further essays include 'Wole Soyinka and the Àtundá Ideal: a Reading of Soyinka's Poetry' by Niyi Osundure, 'Myth, Literature and the African World' by Kwame Anthony Appiah,'Madmen and Specialists – New Nation States and the Importance of a Tragic Art' by Gabriel Gbadamosi, 'Against Ideology: Soyinka vs Hunt' by Adewale Maja-Pearce, and finally, 'Wole Soyinka Interviewed 3 July 1993, Notting Hill Gate, London.' Thus a collection covering his poetry, essays, novels, Nobel Lecture, an interview, and, of course, his plays. For anyone trying to understand Soyinka's work better, this is a highly recommended read.