季風人文講壇第112期：Aziz Isa Elkun

Uyghur Poems, Imprisoned Souls, and the Act of Resistance

with Aziz Isa Elkun

March 31, 2026｜In English

In the face of the systemic efforts to silence the Uyghur people, the written word becomes a profound act of resistance. Against this backdrop of cultural erasure, 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, proving that while bodies may be confined and traditions targeted for erasure, the human pulse of love and collective memory remains indestructible. 

About the Speaker 

Aziz Isa Elkun is a Uyghur poet, writer, translator, and researcher at SOAS University of London. He has lived in London since 2001, having fled political persecution in Xinjiang. Since April 2025, he has served as President of the Uyghur PEN Centre. He edited Uyghur Poems (Everyman's Library / Penguin Random House, 2023) and most recently published Imprisoned Souls: Poems of Uyghur Prisoners in China (Hertfordshire Press, November 2025), gathering the work of twenty-five poets currently detained in Chinese prisons. His sister was held in an internment camp for over a year; he has been unable to contact his mother since 2017.