Abstract: A method for producing an aromatic bisimide includes reacting a dialkali metal salt of a dihydroxy aromatic compound with a reactive substituted phthalimide under conditions effective to form a product mixture, introducing the product mixture to a liquid-liquid extraction column including an aqueous alkali metal hydroxide solution, and recovering from the liquid-liquid extraction column a purified aromatic bisimide having less than 500 ppm of residual dialkali metal salt of the dihydroxy aromatic compound, the corresponding dihydroxy aromatic compound, the corresponding mono-substituted salt of the dihydroxy aromatic compound, or a combination including at least one of the foregoing. A method for the manufacture of a polyetherimide from an aromatic bisimide prepared by the above method is also disclosed. A polyetherimide having less than 100 ppb of residual bisphenol A and an article made therefrom are also described.