25. Year three of confluence + call for submissions

As confluence enters its third year, there’s much to celebrate and to share with our readers.

First, tremendous gratitude to everyone who made this last year possible. To our co-editors—we had so much fun envisioning and building confluence. To our poet Fellows who wrote such powerful work and built a vibrant community—you constantly inspire us to be better poets, editors, and leaders. To you—and all our readers—for reading our work and giving what we do meaning. Thank you.

The second year of confluence was a period of incredible growth. We featured eight poet Fellows from across six countries and three continents. We deepened the Fellowship through even more collaborative opportunities ranging from live renku sessions to monthly Fellows meetings to talk craft. We inaugurated the confluence Councilors program, a group of established Japanese short-form poets who served as mentors to our Fellows, participated in collaborative writing events, and more. We also broadened the journal beyond the Fellowship to the 2026 confluence Poetry Prize and the summer postcard event—which you can still sign up for to exchange a poetry postcard with another member of the confluence community. We surpassed 1,000 subscribers, extending our readership across the globe.

confluence is continuing into its third year. All the current editors will stay on, and we look forward to being joined by new colleagues drawn from last year’s Fellows. We are delighted to continue the tradition of Fellows joining the editorial team, which exemplifies the value we place on creating poetry community. More details to come.

Finally, submissions are open! If you are an emerging Japanese short-form poet who wishes to join a lively community of poets—filled with opportunities for collaborative writing, deep craft discussions, and mentorship—and to showcase a representative body of your work in the journal, we invite you to learn about our Fellows program and submit by August 31, 2026. Or, if you know of an emerging poet who would benefit from a yearlong deep dive into Japanese short-form poetry, please help us spread the word!

Submit

confluence is a venue for emerging and innovative Japanese short-form poets to showcase a representative sample of their work and receive readership and recognition. We will feature between 1 to 2 poet Fellows per issue, and publish no fewer than 15 poems per Fellow so that the poet’s

confluence haikuRyland Li

With gratitude,

The Editors

Ryland Shengzhi Li
Rowan Beckett Minor
Matt Snyder
David Green