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Pillowsoft
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Why was this topic started at all. only when this is known will one be able to effectively contribute; otherwise there would be lots of back and forth talk back. May be in the process we would know the origin of the discussion. Who said there is just one road to Dugbe. I will respond only to response with potential
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JProspero
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Those who compare Achebe and Soyinka make a very big mistake. It's like trying to know between the ear and the mouth which is better. They are two different essential organs of the body that serve two different purposes. You can only compare like with like. Achebe is a great novelist while Soyinka is a great dramatist/poet. You cannot compare Jonathan Swift with John Dryden neither can you compare Alexander Pope with Charles Dickens.
One thing people should ask is why is it that most great novelists don't usually write great plays/poems and great playwrights/poets don't usually write great novels. Soyinka wrote great plays and poems but not great novels (forget about the claim that his novels are for the highly learned - are his poems like Abiku and plays like Lion and the Jewel and Jero Plays not read in secondary schools?). In the same vein, Achebe wrote great novels but his poems are unpopular.
Another question we should ask is why are Nigerian and African writers lazy. John Keats died at only 26 and left so many poems; Christopher Marlowe died at 29 and left so many works; Shakespeare died at 52 with 38 plays and over one hundred sonnets and other long poems. But Achebe is 77 this November and Soyinka was 73 in July, yet they have produced very few works compared to other great writers of the world.
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Ndipe (m)
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What is your contribution to the literary field in Africa@jprospero, before heaping insults on Africans?
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olawale03 (m)
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achebe and soyinka are masters in their area of specialisatn,the former is a great novelist while the latter is a great poet,dramatist,actor and critic so they are both men of writing.i believe they respect each other because wole soyinka in his speech in abk recently quotes achebe as he says 'my colleague'.i envy and admire their achievements
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SAM MILLA (m)
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@Jprospero.;;;;shut up.how many books have you written yourself
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Gwazah (m)
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If the world want to know the richest man she measure it by access not by cash
if u want to know about the the two check by their work.
Soyinka is the greatest check out his work, translations and indoctrination skills!
can u imaging somebody who English is not his language but go ahead and contribute to English explanation That is Dictionary do u know the lattes s Version of Oxford dictionary now? it is the 8 edition prof whole Soyinka is among, i m not saying Achebe did noting he is also wonderful and great. But all we know is Soyinka is the African Giant the whole world knows and they announce every were!
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JProspero
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I thought the essence of sharing ideas and thoughts here is for people to learn, not to insult contributors. I praised the literary genius of Achebe and Soyinka but stated that Nigerians and Africans produce few literary works compared to other writers on other continents. It has nothing to do with how many books I have written. I don't need to be a writer to ask why are African writers not writing many books. And when I criticized Nigerians and Africans, I didn't exclude myself.
So could we leave out the person and focus on the issues please?
I still repeat that there is no justifiable basis to compare two great writers like Soyinka and Achebe because they occupy different literary niches. It's like asking a reasonable man to say whom he loves better between his wife and mother. I am captivated by Achebe's picturesque storytelling prowess and thrilled by Soyinka's dramatic/poetic artistry. Thank God the two greatest African writers are Nigerians.
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future001
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Gwazah your English sucks.
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cisse7575
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Sometimes, I wonder why we do the way we Africans do, mostly Nigerians. Wole Soyinka is a great writer and so also is Chinue Achebe. They are great. And Wole won the the Nobel Laurel prize in 1986 which is 21 years ago. Winning that prize is not easy, and there are many new developments things now that those two writers have not included in their books. Modern fiction requires a sense of immediacy, of being IN the scene. In some of these two writers books, they have bad habit in telling us their reaction to the scene, instead of showing us the scene and letting us, reader draw the conclusion. Want to argue with me? I have some points for you all :
Has any of this writer reach the status of the following Authors in the world?
William Shakespares,
Jefferey Archer,
Stephen King,
Sydney Sheldon, and many more others that I can't mention because I might have forgotten their names. But yet, I compare them to be the best in the world. Instead of comparing those two, why can't we compare, Wole Soyinka Vs Jeffrey Archer? Or Chinue Achebe Vs Sydney Sheldon???
I'm an African man who appreciates Africans, We shouldn't condemn them, but say the facts about them. I render my case but any argument is highly welcomed.
In Writing,
Cisse
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georgen2u (m)
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achebe is my man he is the best
don't even compare him with any ok?
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cisse7575
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georgen2u,
I laugh after reading your post, in fact, I'm still laughing, You sound very much funny as if Chinue Achebe is only created to only be yours. I love him, I love every writers in the world. But we Africans still have that 'black' mentalities. You said I shouldn't compare him with anyone in the world, not even WILLIAM SHAKESPARES? I think you may be wrong. Comparing those two writers will let us see what we do not see from different angles when arguments start popping in. Mind you, I do not condemn him, but I won't say Africans' writers are what they are not. So, Chinue Achebe is a very great writer to have come out of Africa, yet, we can't compare him with William Shakespares. How old is Things Fall Apart? How old is Twelfth Night? Let's start from that angle. I'm a writer too, and my book has won many awards too, but I will never say I can write more than any of them, not even up to their standard.
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pcicero (m)
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It's Kongi all the way.
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osat02
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Lets leave sentiments apart, if that is ever possible,the Two writers are great minds no doubt and each has contributed handsomely to the genres of literature he specializes in, for me personally it is like asking me to pick the best between my parents, but if l must pick l will choice the more cerebral Wole Soyinka, he is a model for second language users like me.
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