Sunderland teenager releases second poetry book to complement city's cultural revolution

Mackem writer Tobias Hodgson, 19, is back with his second collection of poetry, Matching Set.

Following the success of his first release, Fantasies, in September 2023, Tobias has returned with another witty portrait of youth in the North East.

Matching Set is filled with touching tales told from the perspectives of a variety of weird and wonderful northern characters who, in the writer’s opinion, have somehow managed to avoid the spotlight throughout the history of literature.

Tobias said: "The North East is a very unique region, and one which often gets highlighted for the wrong reasons. I feel like, especially in Sunderland’s case, we often get spoken about as if there’s no culture here, and that just because we’re a working-class city we don’t know how to express ourselves artistically, which is just untrue."

He added: "Culture House which is currently under construction (in Keel Square) will hopefully give a focal point for the artistic scene, and give us a way to easily show people who aren’t from the area who we are and what we’re all about.

"I hope it can slot in well and show off the amazing work everyone is doing in the area. I’m also really excited for the planned development of the Sheepfolds area, and the footbridge that will come with it. Expanding the city centre is a no-brainer especially at a time when so many great local businesses are opening their doors.

"Having more space and more potential for that can only be a good thing; I can’t wait to see how it revitalises the city."

The new book expands on the observations in Tobias's first effort. He employs a wider variety of writing forms in this latest venture, presenting three poems throughout the collection as letters going back and forth between a couple, one of whom has gone on a tour of Europe.

The short story, Waxed, is a particularly noticeable step away from poetry, taking up thirteen pages of the book and chronicling a man’s final attempt at escaping his dysfunctional marriage.

The poet said: "I think it’s important to understand that just because a piece of art comes out and is concerned with topics or uses language that isn’t usually associated with “high-class” art, that shouldn’t diminish its worth or artistic merit.

"People need to see that Shakespeare wrote his plays for the average person to enjoy, they weren’t necessarily seen as pieces of high art when they came out. Just like the music of Mozart or Beethoven wasn’t held in as high regard when it was first performed as we hold it in now.

"It was simply the pop music of that time and if you really study it, you’ll find that it’s not that complicated at all. The same is true with Shakespeare’s writing, it’s not all that sophisticated once you get past the obvious language barrier.

"The only contrast is that these people had different tools, both physically and mentally, and were working in a completely different environment and society to what modern artists currently are.

"I’m not saying that my poetry will have as much cultural impact as Shakespeare’s, but it shouldn’t be held back by its subject or its language. If I wrote something in the style of Shakespeare and released it now nobody would like it or read it anyways, it’s a different cultural landscape.

"I’m looking to be the Shakespeare of now, just as The Beatles will one day be seen as the ‘classical music’ of the sixties.

‘Our region doesn’t have many literary role models to follow in the footsteps of. Scotland has Robert Burns and Alasdair Gray, the midlands have Shakespeare, the south has too many to count. We in the North East don’t have a writer that everyone can identify with and feel comfortable with them being the unofficial poet laureate of the region.

"Those are the unclaimed shoes I’m hoping to eventually step into."

Matching Set is available on Amazon in both paperback and kindle formats. The book is also for sale in-store at Sonny’s in Pop Recs, Port Independent and Otto in Sunderland city centre.