A Survey of African Poetry in the London Times, Sunday Times, Financial Times, the Times Literary Supplement 1865-1985

The Times and The Times Literary Supplement catered to an international audience, and Wole Soyinka's significant presence shows the influence of his work and a record of the scope of his audience. Soyinka had ten mentions in advertisements and announcements in the Times and the Times Literary Supplement between 1965 and 1983.

Even though Wole Soyinka had written four poetry collections by 1976, Idanre and Other Poems (1969), A Big Airplane Crashed into the Earth (original title Poems from Prison) (1969), A Shuttle in the Crypt (1972), Ogun Abibiman (1976), and was anthologized in collections like Modern Poetry in Africa (1963), he was advertised in The Times far more times as a playwright than a poet. In a 1972 advertisement of the book Wole Soyinka published in the new Modern African Writers, a book series under the stables of Evans UK, Soyinka is described as a, "…remarkable Nigerian writer, best known as a major dramatist but also widely praised as a poet, novelist and commentator."

Most of Soyinka's early poetry collections were published by the one-man publishing company of Rex Collings Ltd. It is possible the publisher didn't have the resources to advertise in The Times, or may have not seen the advantages of such advertisements, and this may be responsible for the collections' lack of exposure in The Times.

• Modern Poetry in Africa published by Penguin Books in 1963
• Idanre and Other Poems published by Eyre Methuen and Company in 1969
• A Big Airplane Crashed into the Earth, original title Poems from Prison, published by Rex Collings in 1969
• A Shuttle in the Crypt published by Rex Collings/Eyre Methuen in 1972
• Ogun Abibiman published by Rex Collings in 1976

However, it should be noted the Rex Collins in his capacity as Wole Soyinka's publisher wrote an open letter in the "Letters to the Editor" page of The Times of Tuesday, June 10, 1969, asking that Soyinka who was then in prison in Nigeria for treason to be treated with compassion.

Book publishers and theatres advertised regularly in The Times and The Times Literary Supplement, and the consistent advertisement of the works of African writers and artists indicate the relevance of their works or that there was an audience and market for them. Soyinka's novel, The Interpreters, was included in the Times English Books of the 1960s. The Negro Theatre Workshop, still in the process of registering as a trust and non-profit, advertised a special charity review of Wole Soyinka's play, The Road.

The 1965 advertisement for three plays titled "Season of African Plays" announces Wole Soyinka, as a dramatic writer, actor, and producer known in Nigeria and Britain, whose play, The Road, was the highlight of the Commonwealth Arts festival of 1966. Unlike Soyinka, the writer of the third play, The Knot, the highly regarded white South African Playwright, Athol Fugard didn't get an introduction.

The 1966 advertisement titled "Nigerian play for Court Theater" touts Wole Soyinka's credentials—his degree from the University of Leeds and connection to the Royal Court Theatre group of writers—before the actual announcement of the play. The advert reads like his talents and credibility had to be marketed to this audience who, one may presume, would find great value in Soyinka's training in the west. No mention is given of Soyinka's degree at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, a school he attended with his famous compatriots Christopher Okigbo and China Achebe. Nevertheless, the showing of the play in question, The Lion and the Jewel, was postponed because of a sick, unnamed director, this was announced in a subsequent advertisement. Soyinka's connection with the University of Leeds and the Royal Court Theatre no doubt gave him access to the British audience and by extension the Commonwealth.

The only image in the ten announcements/advertisements of Soyinka's works is a black and white picture of what would later be synonymous with the Soyinka brand, his full afro. In 1972, Evans UK used this image twice to advertise its nonfiction titles in The Times Literary Supplement. Soyinka's works were included in both books, Modern African Writers, and Introduction to Nigerian Literature—a critical assessment of traditional drama, oral poetry, and printed literature in major Nigerian languages.

Heinemann in 1972, paid for an advertisement to commemorate the publication of its 100th paperback book in the "world famous" African Writers Series, Girls at War by Chinua Achebe. Wole Soyinka's book, The Interpreters is listed as the 76th book.

In 1978, Heinemann Educational Books, a division of Heinemann, advertised a wide array of books from all over the world. Soyinka gets a mention in the second edition of The Literature and Thought of Modern Africa.

The South African publisher David Philip had an interesting advert titled "Publishers are Defined by Their Authors." Why did this South African publisher decide on this title for its 1983 advert in the Times Literary Supplement? The publisher announced its stand against apartheid. David Philip was one of very few South African publishers that published black Africans and anti-apartheid activists during apartheid. It is no wonder that Soyinka, who was a strong critic of successive Nigerian military governments was included in the roll call of David Philip authors.

The announcements for Soyinka's plays were published in 1965-6 and book advertisements in the 1970s. An analysis of his work in announcements and advertisements shows that Soyinka's mentions shifted from plays to fiction, poetry, and critical essays, though the attention to his poetry was fairly scant. There was a lull, and the Nigerian Civil War may have been responsible for this, between 1967 and 1970. Soyinka was outspoken critic of the war and appealed to both sides—the Nigerian federal government and Biafra—for a ceasefire. For his activism, he was imprisoned without trial for treasonable acts for twenty-two months by the federal government.

Olufunke Ogundimu was born in Lagos, Nigeria. She's a doctoral student in Creative Writing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She's a graduate of the University of Lagos, and University of Nevada, Las Vegas MFA International program in fiction. March 20, 2020.