By Tunji Uyghur
Aziz Isa Alkun, a Uyghur poet and translator, announced his upcoming book in his Facebook account:
“𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀, 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗨𝘆𝗴𝗵𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳, 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱’𝘀 𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁, 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗨𝘆𝗴𝗵𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟮 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯. 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀, 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗨𝘆𝗴𝗵𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗲𝗺𝘀. 𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀, 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝘆𝗴𝗵𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗲𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗼𝘇𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗼𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟳.”
The Publisher introduced the book as follows:
“An unprecedented collection of newly translated poems spanning the rich thousand-year cultural legacy of the Uyghur people. EVERYMAN’S LIBRARY POCKET POETS.
The Uyghur minority in Central Asia have a long and glorious history of poetry, dating from the oral epics of the second century BCE through the elegant love poetry of the middle ages and up to the present moment—and most of it has never before been translated into English.
Uyghur poetry reflects the magnificent natural landscapes where the Uyghurs have lived for two millennia at the heart of the Silk Road region, with endless steppes, soaring mountain ranges, and vast deserts. Also inspiring much of their poetry is the turbulent history of the Uyghur people, often caught between warring empires or marauding warlords. Turkic, Sufi, and Persian influences shaped the poetic tradition over the centuries, and more recently the Modernism of the twentieth century left its mark as well.
The Chinese government is now making a systematic attempt to erase the Uyghur language and culture, with a particular emphasis on imprisoning intellectuals. Many current Uyghur poets are now writing from exile, including the editor and translator of this volume, Aziz Isa Elkun, who lives in London. Uyhgur Poems is not only a remarkable one-volume tour of an ancient and vibrant poetic tradition, but a vital witness to a threatened culture.”