Ngugi describes this book as "a summary of some of the issues in which I have been passionately involved for the last twenty years of my practice in fiction, theatre, criticism and in the teaching of literature.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Europe stole art treasures from Africa to decorate their houses and museums; in the twentieth century Europe is stealing the treasures of the mind to enrich their languages and cultures...."

Contents

Acknowledgements
Preface
A Statement
Introduction : Towards the Universal Language of Struggle
1. The Language of African Literature
2. The Language of African Theatre
3. The Language of African Fiction
4. The Quest for Relevance
Index