On Thursday, April 2, 2026, CeLCAR hosted Uyghur poet Aziz Isa Elkun to discuss the history of Uyghur poetry as well as the release of his new anthology Imprisoned Souls: Poems of Uyghur Prisoners in China (Hertfordshire Press, 2025).
Throughout the day, Elkun, a member of English PEN and PEN America and President of the Uyghur PEN Centre, met with both faculty and students of the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies to share important insights into literature, resilience, and cultural expression. The day's schedule of events included a campus tour with a luncheon hosted by Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University, followed by a special dinner hosted by the event sponsor, Marco Polo Eurasian Cuisine (https://marcoandpolo.online/).
CeLCAR would like to thank everyone who attended the lecture and helped make this visit possible, with special thanks to Marco Polo for their generous support.