Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Foreword -- Section One - Guidepost on the Art of Writing Poetry -- Preface -- Aims of Poetry -- Some Obstacles to Writing Successful Poetry -- Synopsis for the Aspiring Poet -- Modern African Poets of Exceptional Eloquence -- Denotation and Connotation as Aspects of Poetic Composition -- Further Comments on Selected African Poets -- On Writing your Own Poem: Stylistic and Thematic Considerations -- Review -- Section Two - Guidepost on the Art of Prose Fiction -- Preface -- Writing a Fictious Prose Narrative: Guideposts -- On the Short Story and Novel -- Aspects of Fiction -- Perspective in Fiction -- Point of View -- Three Basic Approaches of Point of View -- Preface to Aspects of Successful African Novels -- Criteria for Evaluation -- Fictional Plot Structure -- Stock-Taking -- Plot, Theme, and Character -- Section Three - Guidepost to the Art of Playwriting -- Preface -- When you Write your Play -- Declaration of Purpose -- Questions on Artistic Vision -- Further Notes on Democratic Style and Structure -- Afterword -- Suggestions for Futher Reading -- Selected Bibliography -- Back cover.