Nobel Prize in Literature 1986

Wole Soyinka

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/1

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1986 was awarded to Wole Soyinka "who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence"

To cite this section
MLA style: The Nobel Prize in Literature 1986. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach 2025. Fri. 5 Dec 2025. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1986/summary/>

Streams during Nobel Week

Watch the 2025 Nobel Prize lectures, Nobel Week Dialogue, the prize award ceremonies in Oslo and Stockholm and Nobel Peace Prize Forum here at nobelprize.org.

Explore prizes and laureates

Look for popular awards and laureates in different fields, and discover the history of the Nobel Prize.