The first collection by one of the leading African American women playwrights.

“Pearl Cleage is a passionate, challenging playwright whose concerns for the species are unmistakable and profound. As a woman, as an African-American, her artistic objectivity and sensitivity to history combine with, but do not overshadow, her capacity to dig for truth and present it flat out as she sees it – with a finger snap or a shout and sometimes with a wink. Among the most satisfying roles I’ve undertaken on stage is surely Miss Leah inFlyin’ West. She brings the bushel nuggets of drama and humor that capture the ear, the heart and the imagination. She’s devilish, too.” –Academy Award® Nominee Ruby Dee

“Ms. Cleage writes with amazing grace and killer instinct.” –Alvin KleinNew York Times

“Pearl Cleage is a brilliant storyteller. I am always engrossed in the drama and compassion she brings to her characters.Flyin’ WestBourbon at the BorderBlues for an Alabama SkyLate Bus to Mecca andChain are marvelous examples of a playwright at the top of her form, bravely moving into the new century.” –Woodie King, Jr., Producing Director, New Federal Theatre

Pearl Cleage’s body of work for the stage provides us with a remarkable and penetrating look at the African-American experience over the last 100 years. This volume collects her major full-length plays and one-acts, includingFlyin’ WestBlues for an Alabama SkyBourbon at the BorderChain andLate Bus to Mecca.

PEARL CLEAGE is an Atlanta-based writer whose recent plays have premiered at The Alliance Theatre Company with subsequent productions throughout the country. Her first novelWhat Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day was a recent Oprah’s Book Club Selection and a national bestseller. She is a former columnist of theAtlanta Tribune and a contributor toEssence Magazine.