Prompted by the need for accessible teaching materials on Central Asian literature and history, this anthology surveys the literature of modern Central Asia from the late 19th century to the present. Genres range from oral literature and folk tales to essays, prose, drama, and poetry. The anthology is divided into five sections: oral literature; pre-Revolutionary written literature; Soviet literature through the Stalin era; Soviet literature of the post-Stalin era; and literature of contemporary Central Asia. Each section is preceded by a short critical introduction and includes representative examples from multiple languages and regions. The geographic focus of the anthology is on literature from the territories of the post-Soviet republics of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan), together with the adjacent regions of Xinjiang, Afghanistan, and the Caucasus.

Gabriel McGuire has a Ph.D. in Folklore from Indiana University, Bloomington. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Languages, Linguistics, and Literatures at Nazarbayev University. 

Chris Fort has a Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literatures from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Naomi Caffee has a Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literatures from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is an Assistant Professor at Reed College.

Emily Laskin has a Ph.D.  in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Berkeley.

Samuel Hodgkin has a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from the University of Chicago. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Comparative Literature at Yale University.

Ali F. Igmen has a Ph.D. in History from the University of Washington. He is Professor of History at California State University, Long Beach.