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Services Front Page Back Page Advert Rates Subscription News Home National International Business News Abuja Reports Sports Politics Sun Girl Editorial Editorial Issues Letters Opinion Columnists Community Standard Guestbook View Guestbook Sun Chatroom   Features Apettit Arts BlockBuster CEO Magazine Celebrity Fashion City Sun Crime Watch Covert Choice CyberSun Enterprise Everyday Heroes Exquisite Property Fashion & Celebrity Fashion & Beauty Favourite File Health Magazine How I write Life Style Living Mafia Series Man in the street Man in the pulpit Managing a Law Firm Me & My God Media People Money Motoring Power Game Romance Romantic Faction Senior Citizen Showtime Smoking Guns Sun Splash Sunlight of Islam Travels Window of the world Window on widows Woman of the Sun Women in Business Women & Me Videoscope Weekend Sun Saturday Sun Sunday Sun Weekend Sports Weekend Cartoons Company Profile About Us Management Contact Us   Why I don’t believe in birthdays - Soyinka By NWAGBO NNENYELIKE Monday July 19, 2004 Soyinka Photo: Sun News Publishing National Index Although friends and admirers worldwide continue to celebrate Professor Wole Soyinka, Africa’s first Nobel Laureate, on the occasion of his 70th birthday anniversary, the celebrant himself hinted that he does not believe in celebrations, particularly when it comes to birthdays. Essentially, Soyinka’s happiness lies in the opportunity given to him to meet with school children. According to him “ I am not celebrating. Other people are. I do not celebrate birthday. You know me. When last did you hear that I celebrated birthday? I do not believe in celebrating birthday. Other people insist on doing it and I am happy to use the occasion to meet students and school pupils. Things like meeting the school children, I do not mind. But what people call celebration, I do not believe in it. To me, yesterday is not different from today, last year is not different from this year.’’ To prove his unflinching love for the school children, Soyinka attended the interactive sessions he was billed to hold with them in Ibadan and Lagos as provided in the festival programme. At the Trenchard Hall, University of Ibadan, the literary icon cautioned the leaders of tomorrow on how to avoid violence, but urged them to strive to acquire good writing techniques. Similarly at the National Arts Theatre Iganmu, Lagos the Nobel Laureate in response to the questions from the students, spoke on various issues which they enjoyed. He gave highlights on his adaptation of other writers’ work, how he wrote some of his works, how long it takes him to write, why he called his generation a wasted one and why he went on self- exile during the late Sani Abacha’s regime, among others. “In view of loving any of my work more than the other, it’s like asking me which of my children I like most. All my works are the outcome of my intellectual product. So I do not prefer any of them to the other,” Soyinka said in response to a question. “You see I began writing by graduating from one step to the other. I started by scribbling. Then using my father’s old typewriter, then electric typewriter and finally computer. In fact, my laptop is my boss. Most of the time I use it. When I want to write there is a period of gestation. I try to gather my thoughts.’’         HOME | ABOUT THE SUN | SPORTS | POLITICS | NEWS | COLUMNISTS | CONTACT US I ADVERT RATE © 2004 THE SUN PUBLISHING LTD. This service is provided on The Sun Newspapers' standard terms and conditions in accordance with our Privacy Policy. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material and other inquiries, Contact Us.

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