Lawino's Song was released in 1966. It is a lengthy poem that has become one of the most successful African literary works, examining African culture alongside Western society. In the poem, she defends her own culture and customs while criticizing the new methods that her husband adores. She also questions why his people are so eager to adopt other ways of living. Lawino was a queen who lived in what is now Benin around 700 AD. She had two children with King Ovonramwen: a son who became king himself after killing his father and a daughter who didn't rule over any kingdom and was probably a slave. After Lawino's death, both of them were accused of murdering their father and were sentenced to die. However, their deaths were postponed when a white man named Kenneth Anderson came to judge their case. He had been sent by the king of Ghana to collect taxes from the king of Benin but the latter refused to pay him anything. So, he took pity on the poor defendant and decided to help him out by taking care of his family back home. The king of Benin agreed to let them go because he wanted to keep Anderson as a friend. When the time came for them to be executed, Anderson went to see them killed because he believed they were innocent. African literature is very rare before 1800 because there were no schools or universities where students could write down their ideas about life.