The Last Word was the first book of literary criticism published in Africa. Some of articles appeared in various periodicals in both Africa and the USA. The book ranges widely over its contemporary African literary scene, and was undoubtedly the most provocative and controversial commentary on African authors and the philosophy of Negritude yet published. The author sums up his aesthetic philosophy as follows: "Cultures are amalgams. Present African 'cultures' are already mixtures. Theorists of old and present African 'cultures' don't know what they are talking about. We should let ourselves go."