“Has this year's Poetry Ride been done in utmost secrecy”, is a question you are probably asking yourself when the night is falling and you are watching the darkness, feeling lonely and forgotten. “Why haven't they told me about it? Then I would have gotten up from the bed, brushed my teeth (optional) and gone to listen some poetry in amazing languages”.

Fear not, we haven't been touring around without telling you. We would never do that. Instead we have been planning the Poetry Ride's future, and it's a lot to think about. The Poetry Ride is already 8 years old. It seems to be the time to cut the apron strings. The Poetry Ride was born as a beloved child of the Finnish Institute in Estonia. It has been nurtured and raised so well that it has become too big for one institute to handle. It is time to look for another way of being, maybe even have our own home. By our own home I don't mean any kind of physical place, but an own organisation. It would give the poetry riders the freedom to pursue the goals of the festival – promoting the translation of poetry – in different ways. And when kids move out, something else usually fills the space. By letting go of the Poetry Ride the Institute gets more room for new ideas. Maybe after a few years we can consult another festival or other activity born in a cultural institute and searching its own way. Even better would of course be if we could find somebody to consult us now, so let me know if you know of such experiences.

Preparing the move has taken quite a lot of time, and therefore we have decided not to poetryride this year. We are concentrating on finding ways to continue the festival in the future and planning next year's ride. The exhibition “Poetry Ride – 7 first years” is touring around in Estonia, and we might organise something in connection with it. And I promise you will be informed!