Yaa Gyasi

Yaa Gyasi was phenomenal. The author talk provided a conversational format that allowed Yaa to delve into various aspects of the book in an authentic way. The event also included a Q & A session that further enhanced the discussion and I had to cut it off because the guests had more questions. Attendees were given books upon checking in and Yaa was so very gracious that she signed every copy at the end of the program. Audience comments included the author talk was “incredible, awesome and amazing.”

Yaa was a fantastic speaker. She was thoughtful and engaging with the students from Massillon Washington High School. She answered their questions, ranging from how she became a writer and why she picked Stanford, to how she builds characters and which writers influence her work. Yaa was equally engaging during her keynote with us, which was the highlight of the 2024 NEA Big Read in Massillon. She answered questions with Massillon Museum staff and the guest curator of our Main Gallery exhibition inspired by Homegoing, followed by questions from viewers. Our hour with Yaa flew by! We appreciate the time she spent speaking with us and our community members, and we are grateful for her book Homegoing and the inspiration it offered to us and our partners in creating a wonderful month of NEA Big Read programming.

We loved hosting Yaa at the 2024 Festival of Faith & Writing. What a wise, gentle, and luminous presence she is. Both of her interview sessions were well attended and feedback from attendees re: both sessions has been overwhelmingly positive.

Yaa Gyasi was an excellent speaker and presenter. She exceeded my expectations. She was gracious with her time and signed every book of the people who lined up.

Yaa was simply incredible. She was kind, generous in her interactions with Hope College students and Lakeshore community members. Her on-stage conversation was thoughtful and wise and gave us all a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the book and her work as a writer. Yaa was also so gracious during the book signing. Our community absolutely loved meeting and interacting with her.

It was a fantastic event, and Yaa was delightful!

Yaa’s visit was great and just what we were hoping for. Both events were perfectly tailored to the audience attending and the book signings and all else went great. Yaa is a true pleasure to host!

What I saw and heard from Yaa was nothing short of extraordinary — which I knew it would be. I continue to receive texts, phone calls, and emails this morning with glowing comments about last night’s event. I think we’re now dubbing our 2021 theme as ‘Yay for Yaa!’ Thank you both SO MUCH for your help and flexibility these past few months. You both have been a dream to work with. Please extend my thanks to Yaa and give her my best!! She was a delight, and everyone LOVED her.

Yaa was amazing, and exceptionally thoughtful in her conversation with our moderator and the student questions. Moreover, I wanted to extend my gratitude for all your efforts and support over the past months. We couldn’t have pulled it off without you!

Yaa was just such an absolute pleasure! My students were just in awe of her kindness and wisdom, and today they are working on their Homegoing projects, and it’s so wonderful to hear them quoting Yaa from the Q&A and citing some of her responses as inspiration for their creative writing. I can’t thank you and Yaa enough for making these events possible.

I just wanted to let you know how extraordinary Yaa was yesterday, both in the small group sessions and the larger event in the evening. She has a wonderful touch with young people—patient, affirming, respectful, and warm. She gave generously of her time and wisdom, leaving us all wanting more but also with so much to think about. We are full of gratitude. Thank you for your work to make her visit such an overwhelming success.

Yaa was a dream guest for us – warm, thoughtful, deeply introspective of her writing process and generous in her discussion of her work. We were particularly thrilled with her kind responses during the audience Q&A on subjects ranging from her family life, writing routines, and favorite authors! She’s a true literary star and we were hanging from her every word.

Everything went exceptionally well, and there is still a buzz at the Foundation about the event. People thoroughly enjoyed the conversation, and Yaa was so gracious, kind, accommodating and relatable. She truly left an impression on the Foundation community and on our president who made time out of his schedule to come by to personally say hello and thank Yaa. Many people have also said it was the best event of the year—and one retiree sent me an email, that it was the best and most fulfilling event of his 15 year tenure at the Foundation.