Midnight poem earns Josh national poetry award

Amy Russ

Marlborough Boys’ College Year 12 student Josh Kalan has earned national recognition after taking first place in the Year 12 category of the 2026 Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook Student Poetry Competition.

But Josh almost missed the news.

“I truly thought it was a phishing scam and ignored it. When I did read it closer, I did shout-and-scream in disbelief. Even now I'm still shocked by the news!”

His winning poem, You Won’t Anymore, explores identity, family and the fear that being honest about who you are could change the way you are loved.

“I wrote the poem in a midnight-daze the night before it was due. Aside from a little proofreading before submitting, I wrote most of it in an hour. I think I only really processed what I wrote when teachers and friends reached out to talk about it.”

Poetry is a relatively recent discovery for Josh, who credits English teachers Ms Wadsworth and Ms McLeod with helping him find the form.

“It's been a new thing for me. They have shown me how therapeutic poetry can be. The piles of poems and books they've given me through Scholarship English lessons have been incredibly inspirational. It's a large reason why I've started writing recently.”

Ms Wadsworth says Josh’s strength lies in knowing what to leave unsaid.

“What makes Josh such a strong young poet is his understanding that often the simplest lines are the ones that cut the deepest. He has a remarkable ability to balance simplicity with precise, intentional language and sharply observed detail. Nothing feels wasted or accidental in his writing, and I think that restraint, alongside the maturity of his ideas, is what really sets his poetry apart.”

For Josh, poetry’s appeal is its freedom.

“The lack of process is what makes it fun. There aren't rules to poetry: I don't have to plan or write with a quill; I can do whatever feels right in the moment. Sometimes it's meaningful, other times it's meaningless, and both are interesting to me.”

Having You Won’t Anymore published alongside other New Zealand poets is particularly significant.

“It's an honour. To me, the New Zealand poetry I've read always felt unrelatable to my life; I never lived in the 'wop wops' or spent weekends at 'nana and poppa's'. Instead, my life revolved around making curries with amma and learning about appa's history on the car ride home from tennis. So having my poem, a seeming un-New Zealand poem, alongside other New Zealand poets means a lot to me as an immigrant.”

Josh receives $500 for first place, while You Won’t Anymore will be published in the 2027 edition of the Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook.