Uyghur PEN Board Members
Post Tagged with: "Uyghur PEN President"
-
Uyghur PEN Centre President
AZIZ ISA ELKUN President of Uyghur PEN Centre Email: aziz.isaa@gmail.com Aziz Isa Elkun, a London-based Uyghur poet, writer, and academic, currently serves as President of the Uyghur PEN Centre. On April 16, 2025, the Centre held its general election at the Mir Publishing House in Almaty, Kazakhstan, with 24 members in attendance. During the election, Aziz Isa Elkun was unanimously elected as President, reflecting strong support for his leadership and his ongoing efforts to promote Uyghur literature, language, and freedom of expression. Aziz Isa Elkun was born in Uyghuristan (also known as East Turkistan). He grew up in Shahyar County, near the Tarim River on the northern edge of the Taklamakan Desert, where he completed his primary and secondary education. From 1988 to 1991, he studied Russian and Chinese at Xinjiang University in Urumqi. Shortly after graduating, he faced persecution by Chinese authorities due to his political activities during his high school and university years. In 1999, he fled East Turkistan and, in August 2001, resettled in the United Kingdom. Since then, he has pursued further studies and continues to live in the UK with his family. In 2009, he graduated from Birkbeck, University of London, with a degree in Web Development and Multimedia. Elkun currently works as a researcher at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. He has authored three books, numerous poems, essays, and research articles in both Uyghur and English. He has served as the secretary of the PEN International Uyghur Centre. Since 2014, he has been involved in various research projects on Uyghur culture at SOAS. He is also a member of English PEN. Published books: “Uyghur Poems” AnthologyEdited and translated by Aziz Isa Elkun (with some contributions from other translators), this anthology was published by Everyman’s Library, an imprint of Penguin Random House, in […]
-
Contact us
AZIZ ISA ELKUN President of Uyghur PEN CentreEmail: aziz.isaa@gmail.com Aziz Isa Elkun, a London-based Uyghur poet, writer, and academic, currently serves as President of the Uyghur PEN Centre. On April 16, 2025, the Centre held its general election at the Mir Publishing House in Almaty, Kazakhstan, with 24 members in attendance. During the election, Aziz Isa Elkun was unanimously elected as President, reflecting strong support for his leadership and his ongoing efforts to promote Uyghur literature, language, and freedom of expression.