Tomorrow We Begin is a powerful new collection of contemporary poems for teenagers from MATT GOODFELLOW, winner of the CLiPPA 2024 and author of Let’s Chase Stars Together and The Final Year.
Read on for an extract.
I keep hearin this kid’s voice
from the back of the class
We’re halfway through the first Maths lesson of Year 8.
I’m in a new set with none of my normal mates cos
they’ve all moved up or down
and the teacher sits me right at the front,
which isn’t great when you can’t stand numbers
and didn’t learn a thing in Year 7
due to the fact the teacher was clearly a psychopath
who hated kids that don’t think exactly like him.
Aside from being an obvious target for questions from
the teacher
it also means I can’t see the rest of the class
without really obviously turnin round
and there are loads in here I don’t know.
And I keep hearin this kid’s voice from the back of
the class
makin little sarcy comments to the teacher and the kids
around him
not malicious ones
just funny asides that kinda get me smilin
and a few actually make me have to stifle a laugh.
He’s at it the whole time
and I finally look round at this kid
when the teacher moves to the back of the room
to talk to somebody
and he looks nothin like I expected him to,
he’s small
a few freshly scabbed spots on his nose and chin
great scruffy pile of hair on top of his head that he
keeps shakin as he talks.
I must’ve passed him around school thousands of
times before
without ever noticin him.
And he’s still talkin
almost to himself
when he catches me lookin
and goes: alright?
and I nod back at him: alright.
And I keep hearin this kid’s voice from the back of the
class.
And I think maths is gonna be a decent laugh this
year after all.
Tomorrow We Begin by Matt Goodfellow is out 4 February 2025.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matt Goodfellow is from Manchester. He spends his time writing and touring the UK and beyond – visiting schools, libraries and festivals to deliver high-energy, inspirational poetry performances and workshops. Before embarking on his poetry career, Matt spent over 10 years as a primary school teacher. He is a National Poetry Day Ambassador, and his book Bright Bursts of Colour won the North Somerset Teacher’s Book Award and was shortlisted for the CLiPPA.
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