Call for Submissions: 2026 confluence Poetry Prize

What does it mean to die? To accompany another being as their life ends? Or to face your own death? Poets across the ages have responded with grief, rage, wonder, acceptance, and beauty. We want to read what death and dying mean to you.  

confluence invites you to submit one haiku, tanka, or other Japanese short-form poem on the theme of death and dying. The best poems will share in $500 in prize money and be published in confluence. Submissions are open now through May 1, 2026. There is no fee to submit.

Learn more and submit your poem here.