Professor Wole Soyinka, a Nobel Laureate, has shared his secrets for maintaining his sanity over the years.
In a Press interview with Turkish journalist Aysegul Sert, Soyinka disclosed this information. On October 19, 2023, excerpts from the interview were posted in a LitHub piece.
When asked how he stayed young at 89, Soyinka replied that he didn’t know but that he should be slowing down. He continued by saying that every time he tried to slow down, something would happen and he would end up back on the road.
“I have no idea. I should be slowing down, I know, but each time I try to slow down, something happens, and I have to get on the trail again.
“You see, I am deprived of that sense of inner tranquility once I turn my back on a situation. Quite frankly, I think it’s a flaw because I am depriving myself of something I know I need profoundly.
“If I didn’t manage to have some quietness in my mind, I’d have gone crazy years ago, so it’s a question of extracting myself [from the world] whenever I can.
“It means depriving oneself of what one feels is pleasurable. You have to battle for your creative space. Battle for it! Extract yourself whenever you can and be thankful for it, and just carry on waiting for the next opportunity to gratify your innermost instinct to disappear, and do not sacrifice it.
“If you can manage to balance the two [the activism and the writing], that’s OK, but if you find that you are being tortured internally, then be quiet; just close the shop, run, and go.
Still on how he remained young, he concluded that “I know it’s unbelievable, but I really just prefer my peace of mind; I like to sink myself in a truly tranquil environment, which I find mostly in the forest. But if, between getting out of your house and getting into the forest, you encounter something unacceptable on the way, then that becomes a problem, and you cannot just enjoy what you really want until you have dealt with what you just saw.”
When asked once more if it meant he never wanted to become a writer engaged, Soyinka firmly rejected the notion, stating that what is important to a writer is their honesty, the fact that they are offering a distinct perspective, and the fact that they are creating new opportunities.
The grammarian said, “No! Never!. I don’t know; one shouldn’t expect literature to be committed. It is sufficient that a writer open up possibilities. The fact is that something is being presented; a different view is presented; that’s what matters.”
He then concluded by saying, “The writer must be honest; if you have a bad temperament—of confrontation, of poking your finger in the eye of power—then by all means do so, but if you do not feel useless, don’t feel like you are betraying literature. You are writing; that’s your mission, that’s your métier; exploit it in whatever direction it leads.”
Wole Soyinka Reveals Secrets To His Sanity
