How Can a Teenager Get Into Poetry?
Quick answer: How can a teenager get into poetry? Read living poets, write without a grade attached, and enter youth-friendly contests. A practical path that sticks.
A teenager gets into poetry by reading living poets who sound nothing like school, writing regularly without a grade attached, and finding one place, online or in person, where other people care about poems too. Start with poets like Sarah Kay, Rupi Kaur, Ocean Vuong or Amanda Gorman, watch spoken word performances, and keep a private notebook that no teacher will ever mark. Poetry taken by choice feels completely different from poetry assigned.
School often introduces poems as puzzles with correct answers, which is why so many teenagers decide poetry is not for them. The fix is exposure to the other kind: poems about rage, crushes, group chats and grief, written this decade, performed out loud. Once one poem lands personally, the rest of the art opens.
Read and watch your way in
Spoken word is the widest door. Performances by Sarah Kay, Shane Koyczan or slam poets on YouTube prove in three minutes that poetry can be funny, furious and about your actual life. From there, page poets who speak plainly, Billy Collins, Naomi Shihab Nye, Langston Hughes, build the reading habit, and anthologies aimed at young readers offer dozens of voices to sample. Follow whatever electrifies you and ignore any voice, internal or adult, saying you should be reading something more serious.
Write like nobody is grading
Keep a notebook or a phone file that belongs to you alone. Write about what actually occupies you, not what sounds poetic; the argument at dinner is a better subject than a sunset you did not really watch. Try song lyrics, haiku about your street, a rant broken into lines. Volume and honesty first, polish later.
When you want structure, borrow it: rewrite a favourite song without its melody, or answer a poem you read with a poem back.
Find your people and your stage
Poetry sticks when it becomes social. Look for a school writing club or start one, search for youth open mics or slams nearby, and join moderated online communities for young writers. Competitions give the habit a spine: the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award is free and open worldwide to ages 11 to 17, and Writory's monthly contest is open to teenagers as well, with free entry rewards and a score breakdown for every entrant, so you learn something even when you do not win.
Sharing work is scary exactly once per audience. It gets easier startlingly fast.
A word to parents reading this
The best support is supply and restraint: books, a notebook, lifts to open mics, and no requests to read the notebook. Teenagers write honestly when privacy is guaranteed, and honesty is where the good poems come from.
What poets can take from this
- Watch three spoken word videos before deciding poetry is not for you.
- Keep one notebook that no adult will ever see.
- Write about this week of your life, not 'poetic' subjects.
- Enter one free youth competition this year, such as Foyle Young Poets.
- Memorise a poem you love; owned lines change how you write.
- Find or found a writing club; poetry sticks when it is social.
Try it yourself
Write a poem that begins with something someone said to you this week, word for word, and ends with what you wish you had said back.
Questions
Can teenagers enter poetry competitions?
Yes, many are open to teenagers and some exist only for them. The Foyle Young Poets award is free for ages 11 to 17, and plenty of open contests, including Writory's monthly one, accept younger entrants; always check the age terms and get a parent's go-ahead where required.
Is poetry good for mental health in teens?
Writing honestly about feelings is a well-established pressure valve, and many teenagers find naming an emotion on paper shrinks it. Poetry is not therapy, but it is a genuine coping tool and a private one.
What if my school makes poetry boring?
School poetry and chosen poetry are different sports. Keep doing what the exam requires, and separately read what you actually like; the second habit often ends up rescuing the first.
By the Writory editorial team, reviewed by working poets. Updated July 2026.
Enter a Writory poetry contest
Enter the September contest and have your own poem read and scored. That first entry makes you a Writorian.