NEA Big Read – Homegoing Book Discussion Group at Raíces
Join Raíces Cultural Center to discuss the novel Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. Pre-registered participants will receive an outline of topics and assigned chapters from the book in advance of the meeting.
NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. This program is a partnership between Highland Park Public Library and Raíces Cultural Center. Additional support has been provided by the New Jersey Arts and Culture Renewal Fund at the Princeton Area Community Foundation.
Join Raíces Cultural Center and the Highland Park Public Library to participate in a series of book discussion groups, creative writing activities, story sharing projects and creative arts events, connected to and inspired by Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing and the theme “Where We Live: People, History and Culture”.
“Ghana, eighteenth century: two half sisters are born into different villages, each unaware of the other. One will marry an Englishman and lead a life of comfort in the palatial rooms of the Cape Coast Castle. The other will be captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the very same castle, and sold into slavery.
Homegoing follows the parallel paths of these sisters and their descendants through eight generations: from the Gold Coast to the plantations of Mississippi, from the American Civil War to Jazz Age Harlem. Yaa Gyasi’s extraordinary novel illuminates slavery’s troubled legacy both for those who were taken and those who stayed—and shows how the memory of captivity has been inscribed on the soul of our nation.” It’s perfect for readers who enjoyed Pachinko, Middlesex, or Toni Morrison’s books.
- Thursday, 3/13 – 6:30-8pm – Kickoff Event with Raíces Caribeñas Performance & Community Story Sharing at the Highland Park Public Library
- Sunday, 3/16 – 4-5:30pm – Creative Writing Workshop at Raíces Cultural Center
- Sunday, 3/30 – 4-5:30pm – Homegoing Book Discussion at Raíces Cultural Center.
- Sunday, 4/13 – 4-5:30pm – Creative Writing Workshop at Raíces Cultural Center
- Sunday, 4/27 – 4-5:30pm – Homegoing Book Discussion at Raíces Cultural Center
- Monday, 5/12 – 7-8pm – Homegoing Book Discussion at the Highland Park Public Library
- Sunday, 5/18 – 4-5:30pm – Creative Writing Workshop at Raíces Cultural Center
- Thursday, 5/22 – 1:30-2:30pm – Homegoing Book Discussion at the Highland Park Public Library
- Sunday, 5/25 – 4-5:30pm – Homegoing Book Discussion at Raíces Cultural Center
- Saturday, 6/14 – 2-6pm – NEA Big Read “Where We Live” Celebration at Raíces Day