On February 2, join poet and novelist Néhémy Dahomey as he will discuss his English-language debut, Duels (trans. by Nathan H. Dize, Seagull Books).  

Néhémy Dahomey will be joined by Dr. Marlene Daut, an award-winning writer and professor at Yale University.

Set in 1842, this novel foregrounds a Haiti that is grappling with the weight of an onerous debt. In the town of Boën, a prosperous notary, Ludovic Possible, decides to take a bold step to secure the future of his community. He opens a schoolhouse where local children can learn both artisanal skills and the essential ability to read and write.  The tranquility of Boën is soon shattered, however, by a series of duels that pit families, neighbors, and even animals against each other. As tensions rise, Ludovic’s vision for a better future is threatened by the escalating violence.

“In an admirable style, the author of the acclaimed Rapatriés opens up a chapter of history that has been passed down to the present day, illuminated by the indelible popular culture whose secrets he reveals to us.” Le Point

This event is in English and is free.  Please click  here to RSVP.

The event is co-organized with Villa Albertine.

Born in Port-au-Prince in 1986, Néhémy Pierre-Dahomey is a writer, poet and​ philosopher. ​His first novel,​ Rapatriés​ (Éditions du Seuil​, 2017​) was ​awarded the Prix Cino Del Duca by the​ Académie Française (2018), the Prix Carbet des Lycéens de la Caraïbe(2018) and the Prix Révélation by the Société des Gens de Lettres (2017 )​. Néhémy published his second novel, Combats, in 2021 – again with Éditions du Seuil. His​ upcoming third novel, L’Ordre immuable des choses, is coming out in January 2026. Néhémy​ is currently in the French Literature, Thought and Culture department at New York University. ​

​Dr. Marlene Daut is ​Professor of French, African American Studies, and History at Yale University. She is the author of​ The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe (Knopf, January 2025), the award-winning Awakening the Ashes: An Intellectual History of the Haitian Revolution (UNC Press, 2023), Baron de Vastey and the Origins of Black Atlantic Humanism (Palgrave, 2017), and Tropics of Haiti: Race and the Literary History of the Haitian Revolution in the Atlantic World (Liverpool, 2015).