I was wondering whether Wole Soyinka even wanted the job, as he didn't submit a candidate statement, but apparently
that can be ascribed to modesty. Oookay....
I found the following snippet from
a Spectator-affiliated blog interesting:
Quote:
Wole Soyinka seems to be the frontrunner, which is fair enough: none of the other candidates have ever won the Nobel Prize, been sent to prison for their writing, or produced over 50 years’ worth of serious and influential reflection about culture and politics. Soyinka’s prose can, admittedly, be hard going. ‘One of the tribulations of an eclectic approach to creativity – which I consider the only reliable antidote to the ever-changing establishment monomania of the artistic world – is that genuine eclecticism manifests itself in awareness more than in application.’ Once you’ve read that three times, it turns out to be a useful thought. But – well, Oxford students, you have been warned.
Among the other candidates, there is a strong case to be made for A.E. Stallings. Not only does she write graceful, melancholic and ingenious poems, she’s also a natural communicator who can give a mean TED Talk.
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