A Dance of the Forests.

SOYINKA, Wole.

$850.00

Item Number: 123932

London: Oxford University Press, 1963.

First edition of Soyinka’s first book. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers as issued. Signed by Wole Soyinka on the title page. In near fine condition.

One of the most recognized of Wole Soyinka's plays, A Dance of the Forests "was presented at the Nigerian Independence celebrations in 1960, it denigrated the glorious African past and warned Nigerians and all Africans that their energies henceforth should be spent trying to avoid repeating the mistakes that have already been made." At the time of its release, it was an iconoclastic work that angered many of the elite in Soyinka's native Nigeria. Politicians were particularly incensed at his prescient portrayal of post-colonial Nigerian politics as aimless and corrupt. Despite the deluge of criticism, the play remains an influential work. In it, Soyinka espouses a unique vision for a new Africa, one that is able to forge a new identity free from the influence of European imperialism.