The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow
Matt Goodfellow’s verse novel The Final Year (Otter-Barry Books) is one of the books of the year, winning its category in the Children’s Book Award as well as this year’s CLiPPA, CLPE Children’s Poetry Award. The Final Year draws on Matt’s experience as a primary school teacher but in this special article, he explains that his path to poetry stardom took quite an unusual route.
So you wanna be a rock and roll star poet by Matt Goodfellow
When people ask me what I do for a living and they hear the response of ‘poet’ – there’s generally a bemused reaction – as in ‘is that a proper job?’ And my answer is always the same: it certainly isn’t a regular job, but it’s definitely worthwhile! Conversation will then normally always flow towards the question ‘how did you become a poet?’ Well, I’ll tell you…
I was always good with words when I was a kid, things just flowed from my mouth and pen in a way that I didn’t really understand but knew it came naturally. I didn’t really read much when I was at school – part of this was me rebelling against my mum and dad, both of whose houses were well stocked with books. I was, however, a big fan of music and as I made the transition from primary to high school, I began to learn that lyricists could say whatever they wanted, however they wanted – and I suppose the ones that interested me most said those things in intriguing ways. I started learning the guitar and from about the age of 13 began to form bands and started to write songs. And that was the dream. I had no interest in being a footballer, doctor, builder, lawyer, or poet. I just wanted to be a rockstar.
Nobody at high school ever encouraged me to write or saw that I had anything much to say and I suppose some of this came from the fact that I wasn’t someone that particularly showed much interest in schoolwork or doing what I was supposed to do. I was on the ‘underachievers list’ which meant people knew I was clever but couldn’t work out how to tap into that. I went to college and then university, still chasing the rockstar dream but knowing that I should really continue in education – and English seemed to be my best bet. I was lucky enough to have Carol Ann Duffy as my undergraduate poetry tutor – but I’m ashamed to admit, I wasn’t that interested because she wasn’t in a band! It seems silly now, but at the time it was true. I was still only interested in being a rockstar.
Then the horrible realisation dawned: I didn’t have any musical talent at all – and when the band finally imploded when I was 23ish, I needed something to do. A ‘proper’ job. I didn’t think I wanted to be a teacher but I got some experience in the primary school where my sister taught. I was really surprised to find that making connections with young people was so interesting and exciting. So, this wannabe rockstar became a trained up primary school teacher. And off I went, straight into the maelstrom of full-time teaching. And that was going to be it I thought. Teaching had replaced the rockstar dream and I found I loved it. For a while. Because soon we started having authors visit us: Tom Palmer, poets like Wes Magee, Brian Moses and Jan Dean. I’d watch them talking about their books, their lives and thought ‘I can do that!’ I’d already started writing poems and songs with my classes and now I began to spend my evenings messing around with poems, filling notebooks and researching what was happing in the world of poetry for children. I began turning up at events and pushing my poems into the hands of anyone who might be slightly interested. And here I am. A poet. Not a prober job. Not a regular job. But I wouldn’t change it for the world. (I’d still love to have been a rockstar though!)
For young people out there wanting to get into poetry and to write their own, here are some great poetry books I’d recommend, starting with a shameless bit of self-promotion:
Tomorrow We Begin by Matt Goodfellow – Bloomsbury – my new KS3/4 collection – all about the ups and downs of high school and moving towards a new phase of life.
Where the Heart Should be by Sarah Crossan – Bloomsbury – for older readers, this is a beautiful verse novel by a brilliant writer.
Out There in the Wild: Poem on Nature by Dom Conlon, James Carter and Nicola Davies – Macmillan – a stunning book in every way.
A Dinosaur at the Bus Stop by Kate Wakeling – Otter Barry Books – A collection for younger children by a poet who writes with an effortless musicality.
Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Federation.
