One cannot take a walk down the memory lane of literature in Nigeria without noting the indelible footprints of Professor Wole Soyinka who is a poet, playwright and author. His notable works include: The Lion and the Jewel, The Trials of Brother Jero, Death and the King’s Horsemen, The Interpreters, and A Dance of the Forests.
Professor Wole Soyinka
After setting the record as the first African to be awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, making him Africa’s first Novel Laureate, Wole Soyinka has continued to do exploits in the literary scene with more awards to his name, like: the International Humanist Award for 2014, Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, Lifetime Achievement, United States in 2013, amongst others. Now, the-man-with-the-white-hair is at it again!
The Europe Theatre Prize is an award of the European Commission for a personality who has: “contributed to the realisation of cultural events that promote understanding and the exchange of knowledge between peoples”. “The winner is chosen for the whole of his artistic path among notable personalities of international theatre considered in all its different forms, articulations and expressions”.
The prize was established in 1986 and first awarded in 1987 with an attractive sum of 60,000 Euros attached.
Announcing the award, the General Secretary, The Europe Theatre Prize, Alessandro Martinez, said Professor Soyinka won the Special Prize category of the award for his consistency “as a proponent of an ideal bridge between Europe and Africa in a deeply delicate period for the present and the future of our continent.”
The award was conferred on him , yesterday, Sunday, 17th of December 2017, in Rome, Italy, during the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome and the G7 meeting.
Oh, come on book lover… One clap? Two claps? Three claps? Four claps? Heck, a standing ovation for the prof!
