Almost 3000 teenagers from all around the world entered our Poetry & Spoken Word Competition this April 2026, our biggest competition of all time. Pieces ranged from exploring the magic of nature to dissecting love and envy to commenting on sociopolitical tragedy, drawing from excellent literary prowess and curiosity. The submission pool was powerful, gut-wrenching, and deeply personal, an enormous challenge for Guest Judge Evan Wang to pick just three winners. Yet here they are...
Best Written Poem:
“bonsai tree,” by serrein (United States)
This poem is simple. It knows when to end; it knows exactly how many lines to hold. Serrein's consciousness of form, sonic and textual texture, and audience becomes the poem's central power. Creative swerves follow moments of platitude, transforming the poem into a fresh reflection on jealousy and envy. After experiencing the author's deft lines, I, too, feel varied and reaching greedily "like the sun through a prism." I curiously wonder the weather, which dries the lime, and its fragrant air. I find myself as a bonsai tree, some hungry little thing in the wide world. The question "What do you want to say?" rings like a timely bell throughout the piece. To this, Serrein answers with certainty: "It’s new and it’s light and it’s everything." The author knows what the reader wants but never allows them narrative satisfaction. As a result, the poem continuously grows and blossoms in our minds. "It's new and it's light and it's everything," I repeat to myself like an obsession, again and again.
Best Spoken-Word Poem:
“star-striped shame,” by r.yeun (South Korea)
America can never be freed from its shame. R. Yeun's 'star-striped shame' captures, through a contemporary spoken-word poem, the hypocrisy America actively participates in. The model minority poem, the diaspora poem, and the poem written between two shores are often the same exhausted poems, and this piece could easily have fallen into that category. However, there brims a brutal honesty here that punches through the page. "Because she'll have to resort to sex work in the end, anyway," Yeun delivers matter-of-factly, so casual in her depiction of cruelty. This poem comes alive through voice in moments like these, moments sharp enough to pinch the reader awake. "Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Fang, Suncha Kim, Soon Chung Park, Yong Ae Yue," these names that should haunt you. Yeun is not asking America to listen. America is already rattled.
Best Peer Review:
“Yellow,” reviewed by Adya Buckland (Belgium)
This peer review successfully identifies the heat of the poem, as well as areas of improvement. I especially enjoyed the emphasis on assigning animalistic traits to a human, and the extension of color into the season's flowers. The reviewer's attention to the line "she laughed like the color yellow" was lovely to see because the line utilizes catachresis, a literary technique that strongly enhances the line. Even more impressive, the reviewer mentions how dialogue cuts through the softness of the piece and suggests adding more senses to the visually rich poem. The reviewer's suggestions are incredibly beneficial to the original author's revision process, especially with their mention of adding more personal details to alleviate the strain that cliche images, such as colors and fairy lights, can impose. This level of analysis and understanding is to be applauded.
Written Poem Finalists:
“Mimosa Pudica,” by Rebecca Chen (Hong Kong)
“Dandelion,” by wren40 (United States)
“Every Story I Tell Is This Story,” by Alina :) (United States)
“lunch in a school cafeteria,” by willow.9379 (United States)
“What you choose to see,” by vera_woo (United States)
“Tangerines and Tea,” by Thejashree (India)
“Pilgrimage to My Local Walmart,” by geodennn (United States)
“Rancid,” by p1n-3y3 (United States)
“Hollow soldier,” by coffee_bookworm (Canada)
“Leather,” by Sutter (United States)
“Mandarins,” by myocelle (Philippines)
Spoken Word Finalists:
“I was,” by To’oa (Somoa)
“let me go to sleep,” by Maicha Maya (United States)
“Soliloquy of a Trudging Bud,” by Little Lotte (Philippines)
“Take Me Back, Take Me Away…,” by DhyanviM (United States)
“worlds within my words,” by Tini :) (Australia)
Peer Review Finalists:
“Don't hurt the sun,” reviewed by mia mai (Germany)
“Humanity is Dying,” reviewed by Wonder ✨ (United States)
“That Spring,” reviewed by nabiie (United States)
