Our Poetic Guidelines

We are looking for partners around the world who can help us grow our twined series of the Poetics of Endangered Species and the Ark of Unique Cultures to embrace all the different plants, animals, and peoples in danger of disappearing from our planet. Since first launching our creative endeavor, we have published three handmade books: the Poetics of Endangered Species: Estonia; the Poetics of Endangered Species: Ukraine; and the Ark of Unique Cultures: the Hutsuls.

If you would be interested in joining our efforts, we hope to maintain unity of purpose by providing an editorial, literary, and artistic structure where everyone can flourish. Our Labora Workshops stand ready to make the handmade paper that will transform new poems and illustrations into new books.

So, if you would like to join your talents with ours, please let us know. We need the help of like-minded poets, artists, calligraphers, project managers, and sponsors to expand the Poetics of Endangered Species and the Ark of Unique Cultures to other countries around the world so that our collective Sanctuarium may one day incorporate all living beings.

If you would like more information about our project, please email us at ukk.tallinn@gmail.com

Poetry Guidelines for the Poetics of Endangered Species

In order to create a literary sanctuary for the world’s endangered species, we are searching for poems that capture the true spirit – the very essence – of each vanishing creature. Each lyrical poem added to our ark of words should give voice to the voiceless, thereby making it possible for us to hear what they have to tell us. The ideal poem will be simple yet profound. This apparent paradox should give each poem a koan-like quality which will allow us to reflect on the world in which we live. By encouraging us to release our dependency on pure logic and reason, these poems should help us make intuitive connections to all endangered plants and animals, thus leading us ever closer towards to sanctuary. Please contact us for more information about the poetry guidelines for the Ark series.

Art Guidelines for the Poetics of Endangered Species

Our artistic challenge is to create mirrors which reflect the inner lives of other living creatures using nothing but lines of ink and a few splashes of color. As each illustration must live on handmade paper made by Labora, we prefer traditional techniques that will bring life to our paper. Each image must be linked to the poem which it accompanies and leave sufficient room on the paper to accommodate the poem’s text. Those of us who work on the Poetics of Endangered Species & Cultures have always admired the work of the great American naturalist John James Audubon (1785-1851). Please contact us for more information about the art guidelines for the Ark series.

Partner Guidelines for the Poetics of Endangered Species & the Ark of Unique Cultures

Our ideal partner will be an experienced project manager who can identify public or private sponsors who will help bring about future editions of the Poetics of Endangered Species and the Ark of Unique Cultures. Each project manager should help us identify and recruit talented poets and artists to work on the next handmade books in the series. Finally, each project manager should work closely with the Tallinn-based staff of our Labora Workshops to ensure that each new volume in the series meets the same high editorial, poetic, and artistic standards as the preceding ones.