₦airaland Forum

hifaif:
Wole's books boring? You must be intellectually lazy.

Have you read: The Jero's Plays, The Lion and The Jewel, The Beatification of Area Boy, The Play of Giants?

Tell me, how many of Soyinka's books have you even read?

Maybe i'd have to read them,ive not read much of his books to be candid

hifaif:
Wole's books boring? You must be intellectually lazy.

Have you read: The Jero's Plays, The Lion and The Jewel, The Beatification of Area Boy, The Play of Giants?

Tell me, how many of Soyinka's books have you even read?

I love dat book, "The beatification of Area boy"

Janet101:
I love dat book, "The beatification of Area boy"

Me too. There is hardly any of his plays that I have read that I don't find hilarious.

My favourites are; The Lion and the Jewel and The Jero's Plays (Especially, Jero's Metamorphosis)

Soyinka is a genius.

hifaif:
Me too. There is hardly any of his plays that I have read that I don't find hilarious.

My favourites are; The Lion and the Jewel and The Jero's Plays (Especially, Jero's Metamorphosis)

Soyinka is a genius.

I did " writing of wole Soyinka" in 400l so I read all his plays but, it's was nt easy o, because of his choice of diction

Janet101:
I did " writing of wole Soyinka" in 400l so I read all his plays but, it's was nt easy o, because of his choice of diction

Yes, but I find his plays very very comical. A writer of such plays must have a good sense of humour.

Wole remains my favourite writer. You must have read A Play Of Giants, I suppose.

No offence but the Nobel laureate books/plays bore me to death,they are both prolific writers though.

OrlandoOwoh:
Things Fall Apart, especially outside Africa, is more of an anthropological piece than a literary piece. In the US and other European countries, it is read more in anthropological classes. It gives the white man an understanding of the African reaction when christianity was being spread.

You're right. You're on point. But still Achebe wrote the book as a literary piece not an anthropological piece. That it came to be considered an anthropological exposition is providential.

He even added sequels to it: Arrow of God and No Longer At Ease.

bomasek:
No offence but the Nobel laureate books/plays bore me to death,they are both prolific writers though.

What plays? I have the feeling that most of you have not even read any of his plays or read just one.

nobilis:
You're right. You're on point. But still Achebe wrote the book as a literary piece not an anthropological piece. That it came to be considered an anthropological exposition is providential.

He even added sequels to it: Arrow of God and No Longer At Ease.

He didn't add sequels. The stories were together in one book but it was his editor that advised him to split the story into three novels.

hifaif:
What plays? I have the feeling that most of you have not even read any of his plays or read just one.

Can't remember but I know I didn't finish reading it

Ok, correct that spelling and I would mention, in this section such mistakes are intolerable

Chinua is the man. Soyinka is working on "the biography of Nebuchadnezzar" that is the expected masterpiece that will equate him with or bring him close to achebe.

Read one of Soyinka's books about his childhood, can't remember the title now but u found it really interesting. Its his only book I've read. Flora Nwapa too.

Read Arrow of god and got tired by the third chapter. I found it too...busy. Preferred Cyprian Ekwensi's books.

On sentimental grounds, I prefer Soyinka. Met, did photo ops and had several chats with him while being part of the crew that organised the maiden " Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Journalism". He was really fun to be with.

iamrealdeji:
You're lying,all yorubas that have met think it's Chinua,I'm a yoruba guy myself,but to me its Chinua Achebe because he has direct impact in me and others,i've never understood wole's books,so boring and complex

cool then

Dlionsheart:
so you've not read Soyinka's latest release: JONATHAN - KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR

Damn my ribs are cracking

Chinua Achebe

I like this post, simple, clear, wise and short. Send me ur acc number.

nobilis:
You can't really compare the two of them because they have little common grounds for comparison between them.

Chinua Achebe was a novelist to the core but writes poems once in a while. Wole Soyinka is an accomplished poet and playwright. But Achebe is a better storyteller than Soyinka.

One other thing is that Soyinka received a Nobel Prize in literature (the only Nigerian Nobel laureate) while Chinua Achebe didn't (even though he received and was nominated for various other awards)

Coming to global influence, Achebe is more widely known than Soyinka. Things Fall Apart is the most widely read African novel to date and has been translated into several languages. None of Soyinka's books has achieved such worldwide readership.

They are both great men. And have done Nigeria proud.

Chinua Achebe is the greatest apart from the two mentioned here.

jom28gy:
Chinua Achebe is the greatest apart from the two mentioned here.

How can a novelist who wrote only 5 novels (only one was even really a classic) be the greatest in Nigeria?

Please, stop embarrassing Nigerian writers.

Are you a writer?i guess your not to know what one of his books worth beyond millions many had written.

Jokay07:
I like this post, simple, clear, wise and short. Send me ur acc number.

LOL. Thanks for the compliment.

jom28gy:
Are you a writer?i guess your not to know what one of his books worth beyond millions many had written.

I am a writer. Chinua Achebe is celebrated for Things Fall Apart. There are better African novels than Things Fall Apart.

Tell me, what millions of classic African literature is Things Fall Apart better than? Even writers like Sello Duiker were more gifted.

People respect Achebe because he was a pioneer of African literature and also helped a lot of writers get published when he was editor of the African Writers Series. But saying he is the greatest is taking it too far.

hifaif:
How can a novelist who wrote only 5 novels (only one was even really a classic) be the greatest in Nigeria?

.

that's where the greatness even lies.
And in the literary world, the basis of African classics is things fall apart, its not just a literary piece, its adopted as African anthropology too, how many soyinkas works are that way? .
Can we stop being sentimental here?
All his books are classics too, and he also wrote few poems.

hifaif:
I am a writer. Chinua Achebe is celebrated for Things Fall Apart. There are better African novels than Things Fall Apart.

Tell me, what millions of classic African literature is Things Fall Apart better than? Even writers like Sello Duiker were more gifted.

People respect Achebe because he was a pioneer of African literature and also helped a lot of writers get published when he was editor of the African Writers Series. But saying he is the greatest is taking it too far.

They didn't translate his works into 60 languages for the fact that he was in the AWS, or a pioneer. The world doesn't function that way.
More celebrated writers have given more truthful analysis of Achebe than your scornful description of his works, so telling me you are a writer doesn't change sh!t

Things fall apart - one of the 50 most influential books of all times .
I will get the link, he was described as the Shakespeare of Africa.

InyinyaAgbaOku:
They didn't translate his works into 60 languages for the fact that he was in the AWS, or a pioneer. The world doesn't function that way.
More celebrated writers have given more truthful analysis of Achebe than your scornful description of his works, so telling me you are a writer doesn't change sh!t

That he is the most translated African writer does not mean he is the greatest. That is the bone of contention here, not the BS you are gibbering about. Give me links to analysis that mentions Things Fall Apart as the best novel to have come out of Africa or that Achebe is the greatest African writer.

Wole Soyinka is a wordsmith. He is so fluent and so creative with words, that translators find it difficult to translate his works into other languages. Soyinka is in a class of his own. Every African writer and literature scholars know that.

hifaif:
That he is the most translated African writer does not mean he is the greatest. That is the bone of contention here, not the BS you are gibbering about. Give me links to analysis that mentions Things Fall Apart as the best novel to have come out of Africa or that Achebe is the greatest African writer.

You claimed you are a writer and you asked these questions?
I stated facts and not points for arguments.
You are just being sentimental.
Bye

InyinyaAgbaOku:
that's where the greatness even lies.
And in the literary world, the basis of African classics is things fall apart, its not just a literary piece, its adopted as African anthropology too, how many soyinkas works are that way? .
Can we stop being sentimental here?
All his books are classics too, and he also wrote few poems.

You are the one being sentimental. Wole Soyinka is a greater and more prolific writer and diverse individual

The subject matter of Things Fall Apart (pre and post colonialism) made it popular because before it, most African writers wrote like Europeans and projected Africa from an European's perspective.

InyinyaAgbaOku:
You claimed you are a writer and you asked these questions?
I stated facts and not points for arguments.
You are just being sentimental.
Bye

You are sick in the head. What question did I ask?

InyinyaAgbaOku:
Things fall apart - one of the 50 most influential books of all times .
I will get the link, he was described as the Shakespeare of Africa.

I see now that you know nothing about literature. Calling Achebe the Shakespeare of Africa. On what basis, please?

hifaif:
I see now that you know nothing about literature. Calling Achebe the Shakespeare of Africa. On what basis, please?

I didn't do the calling . Browse the list of 50 most influential books of all times yourself.
Am not here for arguments like I said .
Its not about being prolific, its about quality.
bye

InyinyaAgbaOku:
I didn't do the calling . Browse the list of 50 most influential books of all times yourself.
Am not here for arguments like I said .
Its not about being prolific, its about quality.
bye

Those who did the calling are ignorant. It is a pity you depend on them.

Talking about quality, there are better novels than Things Fall Apart.

You are not fit to argue with me. You know nothing about literature. People can hype books. You should endeavor to read novels by Ayi Kwei Armah, Elechi Amadi.

Things Fall Apart is seriously hyped. A novel that made no progress until the 4th chapter. Amadi's The Concubine is much more engaging