In Erwartung meiner nächtlichen Verhaftung

Reading and discussion

Art and cultural work in repressive regimes
Tahir Hamut Izgil and Maik Müller
Moderation: Katharina Borchardt
German reading: Rudolf Guckelsberger

Uyghur literary testimonies are rare; they only reach a wider public from exile, as the Uyghurs have been oppressed in China for decades and imprisoned in camps by the hundreds of thousands. The majority of Uyghurs live in what is now the Xinjiang region of China. The best-known Uyghur poet, film director and political activist Tahir Hamut Izgil (*1969), who managed to flee with his family in 2017, also comes from there. In his book In Erwartung meiner nächtlichen Verhaftung (Awaiting my arrest at night), published in German in 2024 and translated from English by Ulrike Kretschmer, Izgil describes how the Uyghur language is being pushed back further and further, surveillance is penetrating more and more areas of life and more and more people are disappearing - a haunting tale about Uyghur culture and the vibrant life in Urumqi and Kashgar and, in particular, about the power of art and literature in repressive societies. Following the reading, Izgil will be in conversation with Maik Müller, the director of the Martin Roth Initiative, which has been offering temporary protection to artists and authors under threat for several years with great success. They talk about their experiences with the increasing autocratization of the world and its impact on artists. Not only in China, but also in many other countries, authoritarian regimes have recognized the effectiveness of literature and culture against state propaganda, misinformation and repression and are therefore taking action against them.

The talks will be interpreted into Uyghur-English and the texts will be read in German

An event organized by the Schubart Society, the Martin Roth Initiative (joint project of the ifa and the Goethe-Institut), the state capital Stuttgart and the Literaturhaus Stuttgart