The Palm-Wine Drinkard (subtitled "and His Dead Palm-Wine Tapster in the Dead's Town") is often considered the seminal work of modern African literature. It was the first work of print literature about Africa by a black African. The novel that gained Nigerian writer Amos Tutuola acclaim in the West and criticism at home. The book was based on Yoruba folktales, but was largely his own invention using Pidgin English prose.