Telephone conversation - Wole Soyinka
The price seemed reasonable, location
Indifferent. The landlady swore she lived
Off premises. Nothing remained
But self-confession. 'Madam,' I warned,
'I hate a wasted journey—I am African.'
Silence. Silenced transmission of
Pressurized good-breeding. Voice, when it came,
Lipstick coated, long gold-rolled
Cigarette-holder pipped. Caught I was, foully.
'HOW DARK?'... I had not misheard... 'ARE YOU LIGHT
OR VERY DARK?' Button B. Button A. Stench
Of rancid breath of public hide-and-speak.
Red booth. Red pillar-box. Red double-tiered
Omnibus squelching tar. It was real! Shamed
By ill-mannered silence, surrender
Pushed dumbfoundment to beg simplification.
'Considerate she was, varying the emphasis—
'ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT?' Revelation came.
'You mean—like plain or milk chocolate?'**
Her assent was clinical, crushing in its light
Impersonality. Rapidly, wave-length adjusted
I chose. 'West African sepia'—and as an afterthought,
'Down in my passport.' Silence for spectroscopic
Flight of fancy, till truthfulness clanged her accent
Hard on the mouthpiece. 'WHAT'S THAT?' conceding
'DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS.'
'Like brunette.'
'THAT'S DARK, ISN'T IT?'
'Not altogether. Facially, I am brunette, but madam, you should see
The rest of me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet
Are a peroxide blonde. Friction, caused—
Foolishly, madam—by sitting down, has turned
My bottom raven black—'
One moment please. Sitting down-sensing
Her receiver rearing on the thunder clap about my ears - 'madam' i pleaded, 'wouldn't you rather see for yourself?'
Wole Soyinka – The Lion of African Letters
Did you know that Wole Soyinka was the first African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature? In 1986, the Swedish Academy recognised him for his powerful voice in drama and prose but his story begins long before the global accolades.
Born in Abeokuta, Nigeria, in 1934, Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka has long stood as a fearless defender of truth, culture, and justice. His works draw deeply from Yoruba mythology, colonial history, and political resistance. Through plays like Death and the King's Horseman, The Lion and the Jewel, and A Dance of the Forests, Soyinka showed the world that African stories could stand proudly on the global stage not as imitations, but as originals.
What makes Soyinka a true muse isn't just his literary genius; it's his unwavering commitment to freedom. He was imprisoned during Nigeria's civil war for calling for peace. Even in detention, he wrote. Even in exile, he spoke up. To this day, his voice echoes across Africa, bold, unapologetic, and poetic.
Soyinka doesn't just write; he provokes, he questions, and he preserves. His blending of rich Yoruba culture with Shakespearean structure, political critique, and philosophical depth makes him one of the most important literary figures of the 20th century.
As younger writers take the stage, Wole Soyinka remains The Muse — the lion who roared first and taught us that words can change nations.
#themuse
