Description from Goodreads
An unprecedented collection of poems spanning the rich two-thousand-year cultural legacy of the Uyghur people of Central Asia. EVERYMAN’S LIBRARY POCKET POETS.
The Uyghurs 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 medieval period and up to the present moment—and much of it has never before been translated into English. Uyghur poetry reflects the magnificent natural landscapes at the heart of the Silk Road region, with its endless steppes, soaring mountain ranges, and vast deserts, as well as its turbulent history. Turkic, Sufi, and Persian influences have shaped the poetic tradition over the centuries, and more recently the modernism of the twentieth century left its mark as well.
In the face of the systematic persecution of the Uyghurs in China today, which has driven many of their poets into exile, Uyghur Poems is not only a remarkable one-volume tour of an ancient and vibrant poetic tradition but also a vital witness to a threatened culture.
My Thoughts on the Book
As someone who has heard very little about the Uyghur people, this poetry anthology was an interesting read and I loved several of the poems. It also made me a bit sad, considering how they're treated by Chinese authorities with the consentration camps and such.
This poetry anthology is one of those books I think a lot of people would benefit from reading. Not only to explore the poetry, but also to open their eyes on how a minority is treated.
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