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, a luncheon sponsored by Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University, and a dinner sponsored by Marco Polo Eurasian Cuisine (https://marcoandpolo.online/).
CeLCAR is grateful to all who helped make this visit possible and to those who joined us for this special event.