This poem was written in the aftermath of the July 7th attacks and published in the liberal-left-leaning Independent newspaper on the 21st of August 2005. It can be seen as a companion piece to Next Door (1981), and as with that poem, we will go through it stanza by stanza.
Thanks so much for such a thoughtful analysis of ‘Shrapnel’. I do recall the poem being published soon after the mass slaughter of 7/7. I was keen to read it as I’d been interested in Harrison’s work for some years by that time.
Harrison had long addressed the topic of conflict - 1992’s ‘The Gaze of the Gorgon’ explores the dehumanising effect of conflict from WW1 to the first Gulf War. It even includes a poem written from the point of view of a dead Iraqi soldier, stressing the futility of war. Harrison went on to attack both Tony Blair and George W Bush in ‘The Krieg Anthology’. Harrison would have viewed 7/7 as the inevitable consequence of Western war-mongering in Muslim countries. By 2005, only the most naive of people would have considered an attack such as 7/7 unthinkable.
‘Shrapnel’ was, of course, written and published before the 7/7 bomber Khan’s statement appeared on al-Jazeera on 1st September, declaring the attack was in retaliation for the UK and US’s ‘War on Terror’ post 9/11 - their war on ‘my people’ as Khan puts it. That Harrison names the terrorists but goes no further with any condemnation, is to be expected given that he always remains wedded to the left. He won’t view the heinous crime committed against the British in terms of race, but he will recognise the ethnic struggle of others.
"Harrison, in his role as poet, does not even try to make sense of it. " Likely that if he tried, he'd never be published. 'Wrongthink,' you know. Fascinating how all the might of the German Military could not break Britain, but a bunch of ignorant Muslim fanatics brought in by 'fanatical' British liberals could.
I don’t know what to make of this piece, either, as like you, I don’t believe the official story of that day, even if the lies are less obvious than those told about 9/11. The U.K. public were, of course, meant to hate Muslims in order that Blair’s wicked government could bomb their countries without so much pushback from his voters - and so these patsies were set up in service of Blair’s propaganda.
But…Blair didn’t want us to hate Muslims, or blacks or any immigrant, legal or illegal, just because they make so much trouble in the U.K. with their self-segregation, lack of integration, their often criminal/dishonest/lazy and parasitic ways. No, no, no. But how to stop white British people hating generally, rather than just terrorism-related specifically? Did Blair and his fellow demons think on this? Blair, and all politicians since, seem to want it both ways - look! The Muslims are stabbing people on the street, blowing up trains, because they hate our freedoms! Listen! You are a racist for wanting to stop all immigration! Well, as they say, make it make sense.
Not sure what to make of this. You must have seen the 7/7 video that the maker was almost imprisoned for releasing which showed in great detail why these guys couldn't possibly have been in that picture together because two of them I think didn't miss their train but the train was cancelled so they couldn't possibly have been there together. The classic picture is there with the bars that should be behind the guy at the back running across his body instead of behind his body and the kerb doesn't match the real kerb either from what I recall. One of the victim's father's giot a call from his daughter to say she had heard there was some trouble and for him not to worry as she was just about to enter her office at Canary Wharf but she was found dead on the bus that was blown up outside the BMA offices miles away and that bus is not only one she never took but it also moved from its normal route for some reason and the software updates that were made to that bus in the days before took a whole day to do at the far end of the garage with men standing around it keeping everyone away, something that normally took less than an hour in the middle of the garage. Her father doesn't believe your version of events and neither do I. The bomb pictures clearly showed the blasts had come from under the train carriages not inside and "terrorist drills" were being carried out at the exact stations concerned only an hour earlier etc etc etc. As I say not sure what to make of this.
Thanks so much for such a thoughtful analysis of ‘Shrapnel’. I do recall the poem being published soon after the mass slaughter of 7/7. I was keen to read it as I’d been interested in Harrison’s work for some years by that time.
Harrison had long addressed the topic of conflict - 1992’s ‘The Gaze of the Gorgon’ explores the dehumanising effect of conflict from WW1 to the first Gulf War. It even includes a poem written from the point of view of a dead Iraqi soldier, stressing the futility of war. Harrison went on to attack both Tony Blair and George W Bush in ‘The Krieg Anthology’. Harrison would have viewed 7/7 as the inevitable consequence of Western war-mongering in Muslim countries. By 2005, only the most naive of people would have considered an attack such as 7/7 unthinkable.
‘Shrapnel’ was, of course, written and published before the 7/7 bomber Khan’s statement appeared on al-Jazeera on 1st September, declaring the attack was in retaliation for the UK and US’s ‘War on Terror’ post 9/11 - their war on ‘my people’ as Khan puts it. That Harrison names the terrorists but goes no further with any condemnation, is to be expected given that he always remains wedded to the left. He won’t view the heinous crime committed against the British in terms of race, but he will recognise the ethnic struggle of others.
"Harrison, in his role as poet, does not even try to make sense of it. " Likely that if he tried, he'd never be published. 'Wrongthink,' you know. Fascinating how all the might of the German Military could not break Britain, but a bunch of ignorant Muslim fanatics brought in by 'fanatical' British liberals could.
I don’t know what to make of this piece, either, as like you, I don’t believe the official story of that day, even if the lies are less obvious than those told about 9/11. The U.K. public were, of course, meant to hate Muslims in order that Blair’s wicked government could bomb their countries without so much pushback from his voters - and so these patsies were set up in service of Blair’s propaganda.
But…Blair didn’t want us to hate Muslims, or blacks or any immigrant, legal or illegal, just because they make so much trouble in the U.K. with their self-segregation, lack of integration, their often criminal/dishonest/lazy and parasitic ways. No, no, no. But how to stop white British people hating generally, rather than just terrorism-related specifically? Did Blair and his fellow demons think on this? Blair, and all politicians since, seem to want it both ways - look! The Muslims are stabbing people on the street, blowing up trains, because they hate our freedoms! Listen! You are a racist for wanting to stop all immigration! Well, as they say, make it make sense.
Not sure what to make of this. You must have seen the 7/7 video that the maker was almost imprisoned for releasing which showed in great detail why these guys couldn't possibly have been in that picture together because two of them I think didn't miss their train but the train was cancelled so they couldn't possibly have been there together. The classic picture is there with the bars that should be behind the guy at the back running across his body instead of behind his body and the kerb doesn't match the real kerb either from what I recall. One of the victim's father's giot a call from his daughter to say she had heard there was some trouble and for him not to worry as she was just about to enter her office at Canary Wharf but she was found dead on the bus that was blown up outside the BMA offices miles away and that bus is not only one she never took but it also moved from its normal route for some reason and the software updates that were made to that bus in the days before took a whole day to do at the far end of the garage with men standing around it keeping everyone away, something that normally took less than an hour in the middle of the garage. Her father doesn't believe your version of events and neither do I. The bomb pictures clearly showed the blasts had come from under the train carriages not inside and "terrorist drills" were being carried out at the exact stations concerned only an hour earlier etc etc etc. As I say not sure what to make of this.