Booker Prize-winning writer Sir Ben Okri comes to Sheffield to discuss Waking the Warriors, a modern fable about tyranny, resistance and what happens when a society begins to lose the will to defend itself.
Inspired by the ancient legend of sleeping warriors who awaken when their kingdom faces mortal danger, Okri relocates the idea into a dystopian world of invading armies, frightened refugees and authoritarian rulers.
Yet the greatest danger in the story is not simply the tyrant. At the heart of the book are darker forces capable of draining people’s willingness to resist, raising questions about fear, political power and the conditions that allow oppression to grow.
The event gives audiences the opportunity to hear directly from one of the most celebrated writers of his generation about the ideas behind the work.
Born in Minna, Nigeria, Okri spent his childhood between Nigeria and London. His writing has subsequently explored politics, spirituality, imagination and the complex relationship between the visible and unseen worlds.
His novel The Famished Road won the Booker Prize for Fiction, establishing him as one of the most significant literary voices of his generation.
Taking place during Black History Month and as part of Sheffield’s Off the Shelf Festival of Words, Waking the Warriors offers an opportunity to encounter a major Black literary voice reflecting on questions that remain profoundly relevant: how societies respond to danger, how freedom can be weakened and what gives people the courage to resist.
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