Neil Hilborn

I’ve long wanted to read Neil Hilborn’s first collection of poems “Our Numbered Days” after first watching his slam poems or spoken word pieces a few years ago. I was taken with how honest and passionate he seemed like, often talking about mental illness, being diagnosed with OCD and bipolar disorder. This second collection of poems contains much of the same subjects, as Neil draws from his everyday life.

From the first poem “How do you sleep with an IV in?” I was completely here show more for it. I started reading this book while I was in the hospital with a lot of pain, perhaps not on accident as I knew Neil would talk about his own struggles and I needed something to connect with. I’ve read this book again afterwards, to be sure I liked it and was surprised by how much I marked and highlighted passages. Here’s the first sentences of “How do you sleep with an IV in?”:

It’s just for dehydration, the nurse

says. She hangs up this alien bladder

full of fluid so clear that it couldn’t

possibly be from anywhere but space.

The poems are often looking forward, as the title “The Future” might give away. But it looks forward by talking about the past. It wonders what would happen if this one thing was different. It’s about people, about journeys, about love (of course), about being on the road. Overall I find myself really liking Neil’s voice, how he thinks and his phrasing and that’s overall what holds on to me more than the subject of the poems.

Now I tried to pick out a part of a poem, to give examples of how good they are. But my favourites are a couple pages long and you need to read the whole thing to fully get it, so just trust me and get the book, thanks.

Favourite poems (for now): “How do you sleep with an IV in?”, “LAKE”, “I’m back, not for good”, “Blood in my sock”, “As much wind as possible”, “psalm 12, in which the author alienate his audience”, “The Future” – this one deserves an extra note as I was highlighting whole pages, Neil talks about his brain and suicide, about why he haven’t killed himself yet. He describes killing himself as a “glowing exit sign at a show that’s never been quite bad enough to make me want to leave”. There’s lots of reasons and ways people are suicidal, so many I don’t yet know and of course poems like this doesn’t give you that complete understanding, but they’re an important step in seeing other’s experiences. It feels good to see thoughts like these expressed so well on a page.

Did I forgot to mention I love the poem titles? For those who feel like poems are difficult or lack self-irony, Neil Hilborn’s poems are the oposite of that. I would completely recommend this collection and I wish him all the best. I’m going to read “Our Numbered Days” soon.



Thanks for receiving this copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. show less

It's been a minute since I picked up a poetry book, but after having seen the viral video of Neil Hilborn reading his poem OCD, I knew I had to read more. He has a very evocative, brash, alluring style that I find most appealing and his poems cover a variety of topics. I very much enjoyed this collection, even though you can tell some are meant to be listened to, not just merely read. Reading this has made me inspired to fit some other poetry in, I need a good palate cleanser from time to show more time. I would definitely recommend this and his online videos to get a feel for his style and rhythm. show less

After seeing Hilborn perform his poetry online via Button Poetry, it's very difficult to read it quietly. When Neil performs, his whole body performs. His arms, face, hands convulse and express just as much as his words and emotions. When the reader is left to their own interpretations, the words feel stagnant, the prose unmoving. This is a quick read, but I would recommend watching his performances over reading the book.

A poetry collection in which many of the poems are about mental health--both dealing with mental illness and just being mentally healthy (or not). Sometimes funny, often heart wrenching. Full of both lines and whole poems that are absolute gems.