Wole Soyinka, the laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature, has been appointed Arts Professor of Theater at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), beginning on September 1, 2022.
Dramatist, poet, essayist, musician, philosopher, teacher, advocate for human rights, and multidisciplinary artist Soyinka joins the NYUAD Theater Programme as a full-time faculty member, giving the locals direct access to one of the greatest thinkers in history.
Over 90 of Soyinka’s writings on activism, culture and tradition, creativity and power, and the creative process have been published. Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth, his most recent book, was released in 2021 and was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. The Los Angeles Times called it a tour de force that combined “elements of a murder mystery, a searing political satire, and an Alice in Wonderland-like modern allegory of power and deceit.”
Soyinka has held leadership positions at several colleges and universities, including those in the United States at Harvard, Yale, Duke, Emory, and Loyola Marymount. He participates actively in groups that support human rights, the arts, and international relations.
In 2020, Soyinka joined the NYUAD community for the first time as a Writer-in-Residence. The African Studies, Film and New Media, History, Literature and Creative Writing, and Theater programmes all sent him an united invitation, which was endorsed by other departments across the university and was sponsored by the NYUAD Institute.
The NYUAD Theater Programme is a research center for theater studies and the practice of theater as an art form.
