Paul Éluard was a French poet (1895-1952) instrumental in founding the Surrealist movement. He served in World War I and joined a group of post-war poets committed to peace. As postwar Europe evolved, he wrote extensively against the rise of the Nazis and aided French Resistance through his writings.

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His work Capitale de la douleur was published in 1926. It explores love and loss (his wife's affair) through Dadaist and Surrealist techniques of revolution, capturing the capital city (Paris) and views on capital punishment. Capitale de la douleur remains one of the seminal Surrealist poetry collections from postwar France and continues to influence Dadaist and Surrealist poetry.

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To commemorate the 100 year anniversary of Éluard's Capitale de la douleur, we are inaugurating the Capitale de la Haibun Contest. 

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Contest Guidelines

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Rules: This competition is open to everyone except the competition coordinators and the judges. Entries may be in any language, but must be accompanied by an English translation. Each entry must be the original, unpublished work of the author, and should not be under consideration in a contest or for publication elsewhere. Entries should not be shared in any journal, website, social media platform, blog, or any other public media during the term of the competition. Poems written with any assistance from AI will not be considered.​​

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Fee: There will be no fee for this contest. 

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Submission Period: This contest is open September 20-October 31, 2026

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Theme: Poems entered should encompass the theme of "pain and/or love and loss." This is open, but not limited to several types of pain, including: personal, historical, social, romantic, etc. 

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Poetic Form: We are looking for experimental haibun that push the boundaries of the form and are rooted in absurdism, dadaism, surrealism, expressionism, etc.

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Entries: Poets may submit 1-3 haibun on the appropriate theme. 

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Word Count: Each haibun may be up to 529 words.

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Adjudication: Contest judges are to be announced soon.

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Awards: First Prize, $TBA; Second Prize, $TBA; Third Prize, $TBA. There will be a select number of Honorable Mentions. All winners and HMs will receive a certificate. 

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Notification: Winners will be notified via email by December 15, 2026. Winning entries will be published on the UBU website and announced on the UBU Facebook page. Winning poems will also be considered for a forthcoming anthology once enough poems have been acquired to fill a book. 

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Submit: Email entries to ubu.poems@gmail.com with CONTEST in the subject line. Please send your haibun in .doc and/or .pdf to preserve formatting. If you do not follow these guidelines, your submission may not be considered. 

 

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