New Directions Workshop: Against Erasure: Uyghur Poems, Imprisoned Souls, and the Act of Resistance
On Friday, March 27th, New Directions will host Aziz Isa Elkun, a Uyghur poet, academic, and human rights advocate. He will present his work "Against Erasure: Uyghur Poems, Imprisoned Souls, and the Act of Resistance" at 4:00 pm in room S050, CGIS-South, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA. This event is sponsored by the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and cosponsored by the Harvard Kennedy School Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights and the Committee on Inner Asian and Altaic Studies, Harvard University.
Abstract:
In the face of the Chinese government's systemic efforts to silence the Uyghur people, the written word becomes a profound act of resistance. Against this backdrop of cultural erasure, two recently published English-language poetry anthologies- Uyghur Poems and Imprisoned Souls, stand as vital testaments to love, survival, and defiance. These works serve as both a sanctuary for a threatened identity and a resonant cry for justice. While the first volume captures the lyrical beauty of a two-thousand-year poetic legacy currently under siege, the second gives voice to the lived agony and unbroken spirit of those behind walls, where the verses of twenty-five imprisoned poets serve as vivid acts of resistance. Together, they form more than a mere collection of verses; they are a living archive for both the present and the future. They prove that while bodies may be confined and traditions targeted for erasure, the human pulse of love and collective memory remains indestructible. As enduring evidence of the Uyghur spirit, these works carry a cultural legacy to the next generation and awaken the consciousness of humanity as a whole, offering a glimmer of hope for the future.
Aziz Isa Elkun is a prominent Uyghur poet, researcher and human rights advocate.
Based in London since 2001, his work focuses on the preservation of Uyghur culture and the documentation of their ongoing persecution in Uyghuristan (East Turkistan). He currently serves as the President of the Uyghur PEN Centre and is a researcher at SOAS, University of London. His efforts to protect Uyghur heritage from erasure include founding the London Uyghur Ensemble (2004) and collaborating with Princeton University to curate the "Aziz Isa Elkun Uyghur Book Collection"—a vital archive of rare literature and historical texts that are currently being purged within his homeland. He has also published several works on Uyghur poetry, including the anthology Uyghur Poems (Everyman’s Library / Penguin Random House, 2023) and the recent Imprisoned Souls: Poems of Uyghur Prisoners in China (Hertfordshire Press, 2025).