Poetry Expo 26
/ 28 February 2026
Breaking the Rules
The Poetry Society’s Young Poets Network
Poetry Expo 2026
In 2025, The Poetry Society’s Young Poets Network teamed up with the Estorick Collection in London to launch ‘Breaking the Rules,’ a writing challenge for young people aged 5-25. We received over 800 unruly and experimental entries from young poets in 39 countries across the world. This is a selection of the winning and commended poems, showcasing the diverse ways that young poets broke the rules of poetic form in response to the challenge.
Suspected Alzheimers, awaiting assessment by Safa Marya
These Rigid Lines by Mikala Smee
Lace by Evie Luckhurst
Find the rest of the winners at bit.ly/EstorickYPN
The project is part of the subtheme Unruly Forms – Experiments in the Poetic Wild.
Author
The Poetry Society
The Poetry Society is the UK’s leading organisation for poetry. With innovative education and commissioning programmes, and a packed calendar of performances, competitions, and digital projects, The Poetry Society champions poetry for all ages. The Poetry Society was founded in 1909 to promote a “more general recognition and appreciation of poetry”. Since then, it has grown into a dynamic arts organisation, representing British poetry both nationally and internationally. It has a thriving worldwide membership and publishes Britain’s leading poetry magazine, The Poetry Review. The Poetry Society is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation and a registered charity.
