Congratulations to all the winners, especially my 師弟 @jlfreeman.bsky.social for his fantastic Hanan-Prize winning translation of Tahir Hamut Izgil's Waiting to Be Arrested at Night, a really essential read for anyone who wants to understand what Uyghurs have experienced in recent years

Really thrilled that Slaves of the Emperor has been awarded an Honorable Mention for the Levenson Prize in Chinese Studies (pre-1900) by @asianstudies.org! www.asianstudies.org/aas-2026-pri...

Little tiny me in that grid down there, also very excited to find @jlfreeman.bsky.social!

This week, we’re debuting a new issue of multilingual writing from the US. This poem by Uyghur writer Tahir Hamut Izgil (tr. @jlfreeman.bsky.social ) takes a close look at the intersection of environmental extraction and human exploitation. Read it here: wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...

"While the firms that rejected a deal and fought back have now notched a string of decisive wins in court, others that sought to appease Mr. Trump have seen high-profile resignations and internal discord." www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/u...

A generation before me, my parents also came to the U.S. for higher ed (they went back to Taiwan after getting their doctorates). We are among legions who came and continue to come to the U.S. for its stellar higher education. Excruciating as a new American watching this country self-destruct.

Proud of the stand @harvard.edu is making. Proud of the way @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social has been reporting it. Alum of both, giving money to both. These famously privileged institutions are leading the fight for all of us. Respect. www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

Tonight, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band opened their Land of Hope & Dreams Tour. Bruce launched this run of shows with three statements about the situation in the United States, with comments preceding his songs Land of Hope and Dreams, House of a Thousand Guitars and My City of Ruins.

Admiration to @anntelnaes.bsky.social Beyond her artistic and intellectual talent, she has moral and civic courage. One of the very first to Stand Up. (Resigning from WaPo after ed-page editor, himself later fired by Bezos, censored one of her cartoons. anntelnaes.substack.com/p/why-im-qui... )

For most of our existence, WWB has received funding from the NEA. Now, like many others, we must chart a path forward without it. But our readers still deserve access to dazzling global writing. Please donate or share our work to support our mission of bringing the world close through literature.

Only one member of the broadcaster’s vaunted Uyghur language service remains.

PhD Timeline xkcd.com/3081

This summer, June 7-August 7, I'll be running an online course in "Introduction to Chaghatay!" 12 meetings. $280 for the whole thing. Open access textbook + videos to walk you through grammar and readings. Fees will support GW's Uyghur Studies Initiative. Apply here! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Very proud of Harvard in this moment. Well done, President Garber. www.harvard.edu/president/ne...

In Xu Zhiyong's writing, there is a notion that citizenship is a two way street. It entails the rights of democracy and the responsibility to protect it. I did some thinking this week on being a citizen in this moment. Please share if you find useful. rorytruex.substack.com/p/what-do-i-...

I am very moved that the board of the National Book Critics Circle has chosen me to serve as our next President. It’s an incredible group at @bookcritics.bsky.social and I can't wait to get to work with them.

One of the best jobs in the world is up for grabs: @npr.org is hiring for a China correspondent job-boards.greenhouse.io/nationalpubl...

After Trump and Vance's disgraceful performance today, I think we could use a reminder of what true leadership looks like. Zelensky's defiant, eloquent speech on the eve of the war remains a remarkable example. www.theguardian.com/world/video/...

Utterly appalled by this. Non-refoulement is at the heart of international refugee standards. My heart goes out to those deported, their families, and the Uyghur diaspora. Such a blatant transgression of a core humanitarian principle is a chilling precedent for refugee communities worldwide.

If Bezos is so worried @washingtonpost.com coverage will cause Trump to harm his interests, why not donate WaPo to a trust? WaPo's financial value is a tiny fraction of Bezos's $$$ but its value to our society is huge & this would salvage a bit of Bezos's dignity. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Government does important work — but not if DOGE can prevent it paulkrugman.substack.com/p/our-govern...

Thrilled to learn that my book The King's Road had been awarded this year's Levenson Prize (pre-1900 category)! I am very happy and extremely humbled by this recognition.

Proud to be one of the 350 rabbis signing this statement — an ad in the NYT today and a declaration of our values. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025... For more—and to sign— go to saynotoethniccleansing.org

For Vichy/Quisling Repubs in House + Sen, no humiliation is too deep, if threat is losing the job See: L Graham, S Collins, J Ernst, etc I've been fired. Most people have been fired. Losing a job is NOT THAT BAD. Especially for people who'll still be rich www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/n... Contrast:

Probably the best summary I've seen of the dangers American democracy now faces, and of the tasks and challenges awaiting those who want to prevent authoritarian entrenchment. www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

If you're in district w/ GOP rep, *call or write*—202-224-3121 main Capitol #, but just go to individ web site—and say you want your elected rep to stand up for *Congress* as co-equal branch, to determine spending, etc They take this seriously. (For each person who calls, 10x are thinking that.)

"I ought to take a nap and leave the many meanings of a single word lying on my table" If you love this poem, you can read a memoir excerpt from this same writer/translator pair on WWB: wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...

Do you know who should be the next Translator in Residence at the U of Iowa? Tell them to apply!

The first review of Slaves of the Emperor has come out in JAS. Thanks to Yan Hon Michael Chung for the generous review of what he calls "a conceptual revolution of understanding the Eight Banners and the Qing rulership." read.dukeupress.edu/journal-of-a...?

“Fine Furs, Sleek Horses” (輕肥), Bai Juyi 白居易 (772-846)

Of all the destructive and cruel things the Trump-Musk administration has done so far, this must be near the top of the list. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/h...

The 2/28 deadline for submissions is coming up, so make sure to get your applications in, early-career translators!

The Trump administration has tapped Darren Beattie to handle public diplomacy at the State Department. This is an appalling choice for many reasons. One is that Beattie has spent the last few years alternately denying and cheering on China's repression of its #Uyghur community. 1/3

Ekhmetjan Osman is one of the most influential figures in modern #Uyghur poetry. In this unforgettable poem, he pays tribute to those who influenced him. Thanks to @grantamag.bsky.social for publishing my translation! granta.com/ancestors/

Shao-yun Yang's critique of historians' habit of applying the label "cosmopolitan" to the first half of the Tang dynasty. Excellent reminder to all of us that you can't ignore the rest of the world even if you're only telling the history of one region or linguistic sphere. doi.org/10.1017/S002...

V. lucky to have been able to translate Zhang Zao poems with fellow Cornellian Yanting-Leah Li, because they are absolute. bangers. "In the Mirror" and "Drifting," from the brand-new _A Century of Modern Chinese Poetry_. The book is here: uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295...

Very true. When I taught a course entitled “The Politics of Authoritarian States” (back when I was an ABD at OU) our first lecture was centered on this piece from @tompepinsky.com. As he notes “everyday authoritarianism is boring and tolerable.” tompepinsky.com/2017/01/06/e...

Emerging translators, this grant opportunity is for you! Applications due 2/28.

Congrats to everyone on this shortlist—among them WWB contributors Elias Khoury, Humphrey Davies, László Krasznahorkai, Ottilie Mulzet, Judith Kiros, Kira Josefsson, Iman Mersal, and Robin Moger!

Just published in @grantamag.bsky.social: "The Translator," a brief and striking poem by Tahir Hamut Izgil, in my English translation. To my knowledge, of all the exciting work Granta has published from many languages over many years, this is the first #Uyghur poem. granta.com/the-translat...

Grants for literary translators @wwborders.bsky.social wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...

We are delighted to announce the winner of the #2024MoorePrize for #HumanRights Writing: Waiting to be Arrested at Night by Tahir Hamut Izgil (translated by Joshua L Freeman. Congratulations to Tahir and Joshua! #nonfiction #literaryprize #books #China #Uyghurs

Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, is recruiting a researcher specializing in Ming-Qing history! Application instructors in the link below #🀄️📚 #sinology #sinologists #history #chinesehistory

So thrilling to see advance copies of my book out in the wild!! Launch date is this coming March www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/724947...

There are so many things to say here: 1) It is unconscionable to deport asylum seekers— especially those who will face severe punishment if they are remanded back to countries they fled. This is also true of so so many cases beyond just the Hui people in NYC profiled here.