'Airways, Breathing, Circulation' by Peter Knaggs is Poem of the Week

Tuesday 3rd May 2016 9:55 pm (first posted 1st May 2016)

The latest Poem of the Week chosen for Write Out Loud is ‘Airways, Breathing, Circulation’ , by Peter Knaggs. The title of the poem, posted in the week of the inquest verdicts on the Hillsborough disaster, in which 96 people died, refers to the priorities when administering emergency first aid. It ends: “The sun is glazing the faces of them lads, / before this pall starts settling itself over us, / I’ve got to get back, got to stay professional.” Peter Knaggs lives in Hull, and describes himself as a workshop leader and editor as well as poet on his profile page. He has published two collections of poetry, Cowboy Hat, in 2001, and You’re So Vain You Probably Think This Book Is About You, in 2015.

Here are Peter's responses to our quick Q&A:

When did you first start writing poetry?

I started writing seriously when I was 28, I am now 48. so I have been at it a while.

What kind of poetry do you write? What motivates you?

My main motivation is ideas, in truth, if I could sing or play guitar I'd be in a band, but there's something compactable and autonomous about poetry, I can show up and read my poems from my book and I don't need a great deal of equipment. I do as many readings as I can, I really love it.

Do you attend regular poetry open mic nights? What are your favourite venues?

I actually think the open micers are the real ones with the x factor - we do it for love, don't we? And I get to the spunky and raucous Away With Words, run by the livewire all round good chap, Jim Higo (on Princes Avenue), and I go to Imaginary Gardens at Kardomah94.

Your favourite poet and poem?

My favourite poet? I guess I would have to say Geoff Hattersley. Very underrated and for me hugely important. Harmonica is a bare-knuckled bar room brawler of a book and I would recommend anyone from the north to go out and buy it, right away! My favourite poem would be 'Poem' by Simon Armitage; cool, in our language, and existential.

You're cast away on a desert island. What's your luxury?

On a desert island, wow! Who knows? I guess I'd like a pen. A pork pie would be good, quite a big 'un and maybe a case of Tetleys.

Airways, Breathing, Circulation

by Peter Knaggs

…fuckin so hot, got cobwebs in my throat,

got to get back, got to get back, got to get

back with my stretcher, some fans, some

fans are unconscious on the pitch,

banging up against each other, pensioners,

hair growing out their ears, young lasses,

with mascara and lipstick, in tracksuits,

mostly inert, some twitch, some fans mill

by the touchline. Kneel, bollocks, my black trousers

scuffed with penalty box pitch markings.

A-B-C, these three lads first, out cold, breathing.

It’s a hasty, a flamingo-toed paddle back through

the arms and legs of fans. At the ambulance,

wrestle with my breath, hoist the stretcher up.

No time to waste, not enough of us, get back,

get back, got to get back, a prat of a cameraman

right up my arse. A ferocious urge to just twat

the bastard detonates inside me. Calm down.

A-B-C. Calm down. I’ve got to get back.

The sun is glazing the faces of them lads,

before this pall starts settling itself over us,

I’ve got to get back, got to stay professional.

◄ Poet Warsan Shire's words spoken on Beyoncé’s new album

'Cursed Be He That Moves My Bones' by Ian Whiteley is Poem of the Week ►

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Comments

Graham Sherwood

Sun 8th May 2016 11:54

Lynn check your PM

Lynn Hamilton

Sun 8th May 2016 11:23

Could somebody answer my previous question please?

Tommy Carroll

Sat 7th May 2016 20:54

Mike, what has your years of support and threats of violence to do with the facts, the bald lies and state abuse? (I went to my first match in 1964) Tommy

ken eaton-dykes

Sat 7th May 2016 17:56

Just one more thing if I may.

All praise and no criticism diverts 'Promise' from the open road to perfection. Into a cul-de-sac named mediocre.

Bout time a line was drawn under this one 'eh.

Harry Palmer

Sat 7th May 2016 12:29

Steven, you might be correct on your theorising regarding emotion. Unfortunately I think you may have misread what Ken wrote. I don't think he suggested it was lacking emotion. In fact I think he implies the opposite, saying that if drained of its emotion, he thought it unremarkable. Which seems to have been disproved here as there have been quite a few remarks. All be they, not all exclusively about the piece itself. Your response is a good example of how things may be misinterpreted and then subsequently cause some displeasure to some. Of course I may have missed something, but having reviewed several times I don't think so.

Harry.

Steven Waling

Sat 7th May 2016 11:59

Anyone who says this poem is devoid of emotion obviously has no notion of how to convey emotion in a poem. You don't tell everyone what the emotion is, you show it through the words and the action of the poem. Here, it also comes through in the long sentences broken into short clauses that give a desperate, breathless energy to the piece. As a dramatic monologue in the voice of an ambulance man, it does not use any flowery poetic language because the character would not use that kind of language. There's an edge of barely controlled anger at the journalist, as well as seeing a man trying to concentrate on the ABC's of his job.

I don't blame people for making the assumption that this is about Hillsborough; it is after all, in the news. But this could be about any disaster in a stadium.

I think it's an excellent example of what poetry can do: this is not merely a memorial of a sad event, it's a kind of re-enactment through the imagination. I'd even use the word 'anamnesis' about it: like the Eucharistic service in church brings the body of the crucified Christ right into the church with us, this is bringing back a disaster into our living rooms.

steve pottinger

Sat 7th May 2016 08:41

There's a lot to comment on here! Firstly, it's good to see a POTW draw such a response: our hope when we started it was that it would stimulate debate, introduce people to poems they might otherwise have missed, and showcase a piece of work we felt deserved it.

It's also worth remembering it's a bit of fun. You may read the POTW and wonder what the fuss is about, or think you could write (or have written) something better. You may love – or hate – the style, the subject matter, or the language. That's all fine. POTW is, as I said, a bit of fun, and a chance to give a poet the oxygen of a little publicity, a day (well, a week actually) in the sun.

So, if you *don't* like the poem, and want to say so, I would respectfully suggest that something as simple as adding "I think..." to your comment is not only a good move, but also good manners. (If you're not convinced, imagine the difference between being told "You're rubbish" and "I think you're rubbish"). Doing so doesn't, in any way, stop you expressing your opinion!

For those who may have missed it, all the information regarding the POTW, and how it is chosen, is here: http://www.writeoutloud.net/public/blogentry.php?blogentryid=55344

Lynn Hamilton

Sat 7th May 2016 07:42

Me again! Could somebody please clarify who the Judge/s actually are for these poems. Other writers may be aware but I'm not.

Lynn Hamilton

Fri 6th May 2016 19:38

If you are prepared to place yourself in the dock, you have the choice to plead guilty or not guilty. Not guilty leads to questioning by both the defence and the prosecution. The jury then passes their verdict and the Judge passes sentence. I see lots of people writing and putting themselves in the dock (I refuse to use the word poet). I don't see the Judge/s nor do I see the jury get the chance to pass their own verdict.... just sayin....

Graham Sherwood

Fri 6th May 2016 14:31

Harry does have a good point and of course positive/negative commenting on any particular poem will draw out the colours of both sides.

I also agree that when the subject matter is deviated from, the main point of the exercise is somewhat lost.

The prime point of POTW is to showcase good work and good poets.

Whether commenters agree will of course be eternally open to debate.

Harry Palmer

Fri 6th May 2016 14:05

It seems to me that Ken is quite clearly giving his opinion, who else's could he give? If as has been said we all know that the appreciation of art is subjective then why reinforce that by directing ken on giving his entitled opinion?
Maybe some people would do well to become a little more robust.
People must be permitted to give their opinion without fear of being cut off at the tongue by school mistress type corrections.
Unfortunately much of the lively part of this discussion has veered away from the work, which is a shame to my mind.
If people are not permitted to pen their true feelings politely and honestly regarding all work posted, how much of a true representation is being presented. One might question the merit of having a POTW section if only praise is permitted to be bestowed upon the piece, maybe some involved in its selection are being over protective, we couldn't know that as the reading audience is not clear on who selects the POTW, maybe it could be considered to name the selector, and present the piece as their chosen poem of the week, to be honest I think that might be a better type of presentation for those selecting and those submitting and reading. It would certainly be more transparent a process. Of course that said, it is merely my opinion, no more no less.
We may not be pugilists, but I think most on here are adults.

Laura Taylor

Fri 6th May 2016 13:39

Ken - "...it had no great shakes as a literary work" - in your opinion. We all know that appreciation of any art is subjective, so let's bear that in mind rather than making definite statements.

Also, "Read it and get your own back" is not particularly helpful, or appropriate. We are poets, not pugilists.

Thanks everyone for a lively discussion! The very nature of this kind of poetry does stir strong emotion, so in that respect, it's done its job very well.

ken eaton-dykes

Fri 6th May 2016 11:44

Hi Peter. Didn't mean to ruffle any feathers, but you didn't really expect a one hundred per cent accolade on the quality of the piece? I was simply pointing out in my appraisal that drained of it's emotion it had no great shakes as a literary work.

As for a better alternative. Mine of course?

Read it and get your own back

Ken

Graham Sherwood

Fri 6th May 2016 10:23

Peter, anyone who can get "verisimilitude" into a sentence is certainly worthy of merit!! Brilliant (I'm just off to look it up).

Well done, as your week in the limelight is drawing to a close, keep up the work.

Graham

Peter knaggs

Fri 6th May 2016 09:52

Might I say, I never linked the poem to Hillsborough. However I stand by the verisimilitude of the occasion and the poem. Fans did mill on the pitch and stretchers where loaded on to ambulances in a chaotic situation. I do not make the stretcher bearer out to be a hero or incompetent, that is an interpretation I leave to the reader. Of course, if I could write a poem that was so good it would bring a Liverpool fan back to life, then I would, but none of us can.
At the turn of the century I read a lot of poetry anthologies, purporting to commemorate important events of the century. Alas, Armitage, O'Brien and Patterson and their cronies not once broached, what I though was a significant event. So I wrote a poem for the working class people, to mark that this had happened (it could be Scotland or Bradford). This stuff isn't written lightly and it is authentic. Clearly there may well be a poem out there where a Liverpool fan who saved lives, or a life gets pissed off with an ambulance man. That poem is for someone else to write.

Graham Sherwood

Fri 6th May 2016 09:33

The very fact that this poem has been voted Poem of the Week is meritous in itself surely?

Peter knaggs

Fri 6th May 2016 09:30

Fair enough Ken. What was your poem of the week?

Mat Woolfenden

Thu 5th May 2016 22:31

The voice in the poem is of an heroic ambulance man at Hillsborough.

Tommy points out the verdict of the enquiry was that the ambulance guys were not very heroic.

So, while it might be a lovely poem, and as a reader you get a fantastic sense of the writer in his mind's eye - the fella from the newsreel in his St John's outfit rushing toward terraces - this is not the visceral [nor the authentic] poem that the total vindication of the fans demands...

- wonderful eloquence none the less, celebrate voice, creativity, perspective...of Peter, thank you Peter for making me think.

<Deleted User> (4172)

Thu 5th May 2016 15:40

Tommy, i don't need to read any facts, i know what went on, i had three mates there, i've been a Liverpool fan for over 40 years and would be the first to cling to the throat of anybody who even attempted to point the finger at them. It's a good poem, a great poem, the site needs 'em.

Greg Freeman

Thu 5th May 2016 15:30

Tommy, I'm sure the poet is not trying to belittle the efforts of fans or 'big up' those of ambulancemen on that terrible day. It's a poem that seems to be trying to capture some of the horror of the moment; it doesn't attempt to be a transcript of the Hillsborough inquest evidence. It doesn't specifically identify whether the emergency worker is a regular ambulanceman - maybe he is - or a St John's volunteer. For what it's worth, I found this on the internet http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/nine-heroes-day-hillsborough-disaster-11214743 in which the coroner paid tribute to the efforts of at least one St Johns volunteer. In its report the Echo says: "St John Ambulance volunteer Philip Saxton was the first person to go into the pens to respond to the emergency ... He cleared the airway of 67-year-old Gerard Baron through the mesh fencing and removed his false teeth ... After he finished his evidence, coroner Sir John Goldring said: “Thank you very much indeed, Mr Saxton. Nobody could have done more.” I take the poem to be an attempt to imagine what it was like to be there, and an attempt at empathy. Some will say it succeeds; others that it fails. For those that weren't there, it is certainly very hard to imagine what it was like.

Tommy Carroll

Thu 5th May 2016 14:13

"Last week’s proceedings at Warrington, the offspring of the Hillsborough Independent Panel of 2012 which found that Liverpool fans were in no way responsible for the carnage, were witnessed by some 200 people, numbered among the survivors, the grieving, and activists.

They witnessed coronial proceedings that found that spectators at the match had died of compression asphyxia, a situation compounded by a /CATASTROPHICALLY INADEQUATE RESPONSE from the SOUTH YORKSHIRE METROPOLITAN AMBULANCE SERVICE (my emphasis) and police personnel."

Hey Mike- check the facts. The Ambulance service came under strong criticism just days ago. I sometimes despair at the ignorance of the issues exposed by the recent findings by many members of the public. Ambulance staff stood and WATCHED as untrained Liverpool fans did their best to help.

" The ambulance service's initial response to the Hillsborough disaster was "woefully inadequate", a jury has heard.
Expert paramedic David Whitmore criticised how a senior ambulance officer failed to look into the pens where Liverpool fans were dying. "

Emergency services could have saved up to 58 of the Hillsborough victims if they had responded quicker, it has been revealed.

" ... the Hillsborough Independent Panel said that 41 of the Liverpool fans who lost their lives could have lived if the police and ambulance service response had been better. "

I can supply posters with a vast amount of verified criticisms of the Ambulance service.

<Deleted User> (4172)

Wed 4th May 2016 21:34

Quite often, whenever a poem with 'guts' appears on here people generally have little or nothing to say, so the last two comments don't surprise me. To call it 'an unremarkable commentary' is breathtakingly ignorant and then attacking the character for not saving lives is just bollocks. I despair on here sometimes.

ken eaton-dykes

Wed 4th May 2016 15:40

Topicality apart. Nothing of outstanding merit an unremarkable commentary of a very tragic event

Tommy Carroll

Wed 4th May 2016 00:40

Pity the character in the piece didn't get his/her arse into gear earlier perhaps more lives would have been saved. Also the mention of fans milling about- the fans did more to save lives than the ambulance staff and police combined (Remember the hoardings?)

steve pottinger

Tue 3rd May 2016 12:41

A poem about Hillsborough seems appropriate this week, and this one is just excellent. Great work, Peter.