Wole Soyinka

Wole Soyinka Poems

Wole Soyinka, also known as Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka, is a Nigerian playwright and poet. He won the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature and was the first sub-Saharan African person to do so. He is well-regarded for his role in Nigeria’s political history.

Soyinka has taught at some of the world’s most prestigious universities, including Cambridge, Oxford, Emory, Duke, Harvard, and Yale.

Telephone Conversation

by Wole Soyinka

‘Telephone Conversation’ is a poem written by Wole Soyinka, a renowned African writer in English. The poem exposes the presence of racial discrimination at the individual level in society even after the passing of laws against it.

Wole Soyinka, a Nigerian playwright, poet, and essayist, often tackles themes of oppression, tyranny, and human rights in his works. In 'Telephone Conversation,' he explores the social issue of racial discrimination, highlighting how it infiltrates even the most mundane aspects of life. His use of humor and irony not only entertains but also serves as a mechanism for critique, showing how absurd and inhuman racial discrimination can be. This piece is, without a doubt, his best-known.

The price seemed reasonable, location

Indifferent. The landlady swore she lived

Off premises. Nothing remained

But self-confession. "Madam," I warned,

 

We're glad you like visiting Poem Analysis...

We've got everything you need to master poetry

But, are you ready to take your learning

to the next level?