Read Bonner's essay "On Being Young-a Woman-and Colored" (1925). What issues and concerns does she raise in this essay? In what ways is the style in which the essay is written effective in conveying these ideas? In what ways does this essay help to illuminate the concerns addressed in The Purple Flower?

It has often been remarked that Bonner's plays were not written to be performed but to be read. In fact, none of her three plays was ever performed during her lifetime, although they were published in magazines. Act out a segment from The Purple Flower. In what ways does performing the play help you better understand its meaning? What difficulties arise in translating the written word of the play into a performance?

Bonner's short stones, published primarily during the 1930s, represent elements of African American experiences in the urban environment of...