Afas Literature Essay Research Paper Unlike the

Afas (Literature) Essay, Research Paper Unlike the historical figures from the last research, these figures where into literature and they wrote about their struggles, individuality, and other issues that disturbed them. They all made an impact during the early 1900. Some of which are still alive now. In a way, they structured writing for blacks. They were not all Americans, but they defined the ways that literature was read and written. Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe were two historical figures in literature. They were both from Nigeria and they both wrote about the falling of the Nigerian culture and also their personal tribes and culture. They had a very great impact in the Nigeria culture. They were never too scared to write how they felt about any situations. Writing was

a way to voice out their opinion. Unlike the other pioneers that took action against what they were not in support of, these pioneers where into writing and they stood up for there rights by writing about it and discussing it. They all wrote about the issue of racism and also unjust manners, apart from one of them who wrote about homosexuality. They were all against racial acts and stood up for their rights. In some cases, they were arrested for it. Wole Soyinka Wole Soyinka was born on July 13 1934 in Abeokuta Nigerian. He was a playwright, poet, novelist, and lecturer. Soyinka studied at the University of Ibadan and graduated from the university of leads in Britain in 1957 with a Doctorate degree. During the six years he spent in England, he was a “dramaturgist” at the

Royal Court Theatre in London. He returned to Nigeria in 1960 and established Masks drama troupe. He later started producing his own play and other plays by African play writers. During 1967 – 1970, which was the time of the Nigerian Civil war, he appealed in an article for cease-fire and was arrested and kept in solitary confinement because they thought he was conspiring with the Biafra rebels. He was in jail for 22 months until 1969. During his time in jail, he wrote a collection of poems. Soyinka usually based his writing on the “mythology of his own tribe the Yoruba with Ogun, the god of iron and war”. He also writes about the need for individual freedom. Some of his plays deal with Nigerian Independent and political issues. His article A Personal Narrative of the

Nigerian Crisis deals with Nigeria before the Independent during the British regime until the regime under Abacha. In 1994 he went into exile during the dictatorship of Sani Abacha. He was angry and sad because of the deterioration of Nigeria as a nation. In 1997 he was charged for treason. They government claimed that he and other dissidents had been involved in a series of bombings. Soyinka denied all charges, and after Abacha’s death in June 1998, his successor, Abdulsalam Abubakar, dropped all charges and he later returned to Nigeria. James Arthur Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin was born in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City to a single mother, Emma Birdis Jones. When he was still young, his mother married a preacher, David Baldwin, who adopted him. He was born the first

of nine children of a clergyman and a factory worker. James had a difficult relationship with his adopted dad. In 1942 he graduated from high school and moved to New Jersey to begin working as a railroad hand. At age fourteen he joined a Pentecostal church and became a preacher. He used writing as a tool. He wrote as a way to be loved. At age 17 Baldwin turned away from religion and moved to Greenwich Village, a New York City neighborhood where he met Richard Wright and began his first novel, In My Father’s House. In 1948 he began receiving awards and fellowships for his writings and published his first essay, The Harlem Ghetto. He later became aware of his homosexuality and was uncomfortable in the United States. He later moved to Paris, France. While in France he accepted his