A biography for Wole Soyinkahasn’t been written yet.
“Books and all forms of writing have always been objects of terror to those who seek to suppress the truth.”
“England is the breeding ground of fundamentalist Muslims. Its social logic is to allow all religions to preach openly. But this is illogic, because none of the other religions preach apocalyptic violence. And yet England allows it.”
“Writers and intellectuals have a duty to humanity. It is to insist that the human entity remains the primary asset in overall development; thus, it must be safeguarded.”
“After the death of the sadistic dictator Gen. Sanni Abacha in 1998, Nigeria underwent a one-year transitional military administration headed by Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, who uncharacteristically bowed out precisely on the promised date for military disengagement. Did the military truly disengage, however? No.”
“The problem with literature, with writing, is that it works sometimes in terms of correction of social ills. Other times, it just does not suffice.”
“I like to say, 'I spend one-third of my time in Nigeria, one-third in Europe or America, and one-third on a plane.'”
“The Nation of Islam provides an antidote in the United States to fundamentalist Islam - which is why individuals from America have to go abroad to find radical teachings.”
“I grew up in an atmosphere where words were an integral part of culture.”
“I'm not one of those writers I learned about who get up in the morning, put a piece of paper in their typewriter machine and start writing. That I've never understood.”
“I don't really consider myself a novelist, it just came out purely by accident.”
“For now, let us simply observe that the assault on human dignity is one of the prime goals of the visitation of fear, a prelude to the domination of the mind and the triumph of power”
“Probably to me the greatest singer, female voice, is Billie Holiday. And one of the most moving for me, I don't know why - maybe it's nostalgia, maybe because my life is one of constant partying, whatever.”
“An idyllic period of my existence was when I had a den attached to my home... a writing den, and no one had access to that unless they had their own special visa, applied for weeks in advance.”
“In the world of literature, I see prizes as more of a duty to the craft itself, rather than as something for the individual.”
“The scales of reckoning with mortality are never evenly weighted, alas, and thus it is on the shoulders of the living that the burden of justice must continue to rest.”
“There's a kind of dynamic quality about theater and that dynamic quality expresses itself in relation to, first of all, the environment in which it's being staged; then the audience, the nature of the audience, the quality of the audience.”
“The novel, for me, was an accident. I really don't consider myself a novelist.”
“Books and all forms of writing are terror to those who wish to suppress the truth.”
“Human life has meaning only to that degree and as long as it is lived in the service of humanity.”
“I cannot belong to a nation which permits such barbarities as stoning to death and amputation - I don't care what religion it is.”