Criticism > Contemporary Literary Criticism > Soyinka, Wole (Vol. 179) - Peter Nazareth (review date autumn 1997)


Soyinka, Wole (Vol. 179) - Peter Nazareth (review date autumn 1997)

Peter Nazareth (review date autumn 1997)

SOURCE: Nazareth, Peter. Review of The Open Sore of a Continent: A Personal Narrative of the Nigerian Crisis, by Wole Soyinka. World Literature Today 71, no. 4 (autumn 1997): 853.

[In the following review, Nazareth contends that Soyinka presents a chilling portrayal of contemporary Nigerian politics in The Open Sore of a Continent: A Personal Narrative of the Nigerian Crisis.]

In March 1997 it was reported in the newspapers that Wole Soyinka had been accused by President Abacha of Nigeria of being a terrorist setting off bombs in Nigeria; Abacha charged him with treason. Soyinka (living outside Nigeria) was reported as saying that this was a death sentence comparable to that imposed on Salman Rushdie. Of course, Soyinka denied the charge.

The Open Sore of a Continent appears to have little to do with literature: it is an expose of the Nigerian crisis and an attack on Abacha....

[The entire page is 536 words long]

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass