2nd Thursday Poetry Reading @ The MAC

Thursday, October 9, 2025, 7 – 9 pm
Featuring Navah The Buddaphliii, Eddy Toussaint Tontongi
Navah The Buddaphliii is a distinguished poet,‬ performer, and author with over 20 years of‬ experience in the literary arts. Known for her‬ mastery of metaphor, she redefined herself as‬ Navah the Buddaphliii‬‭ —pronounced‬ “butterfly”—a name that reflects her deep belief‬ in transformation and her role as a catalyst for‬ change in the world.‬ Affectionately called‬‭ The Duchess of Double‬ Entendres‬‭ , Navah is celebrated as a‬ poet-prophet, a warrior of words, and an‬ nwavering source of inspiration. Her social‬ media series,‬‭ Navahism‬‭ , has garnered a‬ devoted following through its blend of clever‬ affirmations and empowering reflections.‬ Her body of work includes‬‭ Black Cocaine and‬ Colorless Butterflies‬‭ , a collection that solidified‬ her place in the poetry community and brought‬ her recognition from the City of Boston as well‬ as the Atlanta poetry scene. Over the years, she‬ has performed at both intimate venues and‬ prestigious theaters, captivating audiences with‬ her raw honesty, lyrical brilliance, and‬ unapologetic storytelling. A mother of five and a devoted partner, Navah‬ continues to balance her artistic pursuits with‬ her commitment to family. Through her abstract‬ writing workshops in colleges and‬ collaborations with poets worldwide, she fosters‬ the next generation of literary voices while‬ promoting the power of art and activism.‬

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Eddy Toussaint Tontongi is a poet, critic and essayist who writes in Haitian, French and English. His latest books include Tyaka Poetica (2021); La Parole indomptée / Memwa Baboukèt (“The Untamed Speech / Memory of The Muzzle,” 2015), published by L’Harmattan in Paris, France; and In the Beast’s Alley (2013), a collection in English of his “poems of conscience.” Tontongi’s book Critique de la francophonie haïtienne (L’Harmattan, 2007) is considered by as a seminal critique of linguistic power relations in Haiti. Tontongi has just completed his French collection of essays, Le Regard de l’Autre, using the critical investigative perspective which he calls reverse anthropology, the reverse gaze of the Other, the oppressed, upon the oppressors. A look from the South to the North. Tontongi’s latest collection of poems is Gaze of Thunder, scheduled to be released in the Summer of 2025. Tontongi is Editor in Chief of the publishing house Trilingual Press and the trilingual politico-literary journal Tanbou (www.tanbou.com). Eddy will read from his newly released collection of poems “Gaze of Thunder” (Trilingual Press, October 2025).