Wole Soyinka won the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the first African writer to receive the award. The Swedish Academy praised his work for shaping the drama of existence with a broad cultural perspective and poetic overtones.
Soyinka was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria, in 1934. He is a playwright, poet, novelist, essayist, and political activist whose work draws on Yoruba mythology, European theatrical traditions, and Nigeria’s political history. His plays include Death and the King’s Horseman and The Lion and the Jewel.
The award is sometimes mistakenly attributed to Chinua Achebe, who never won the Nobel Prize, or to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, who also has not received it. Soyinka’s Nobel recognition followed decades of writing and political involvement, including opposition to authoritarian government and the Biafran War.