Title: Our Numbered DaysAuthor: Neil Hilborn
First Published: April 1, 2015
Publisher: Button Poetry
Pages: 72
Genre: Poetry
Format: Paperback
Source: Library
Rating:
Synopsis:
When you’re dumb enough for long enough, you’re gonna meet someone too smart to love you, and they’re gonna love you anyway, and it’s gonna go so poorly,” Neil Hilborn’s debut collection, Our Numbered Days, is funny and mad at itself for being funny. It’s sad, and it thinks that’s also funny. It’s smart, even when it’s calling itself stupid. It says “Love me” while insisting that loving it is a bad idea. Our Numbered Days is like playing mini golf on a first date: it will be embarrassing at first, but, it swears, you’re gonna love it.
Review
If you haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing slam poetry or have never heard of Neil Hilborn before then I strongly urge you to check out some of his performances, particularly OCD and Joey. It will give you an idea of his voice and the strong emotional impact of his writing.
Our Numbered Days is a brilliant collection because it challenges readers to ask questions about themselves and take a look at their lives. Hilborn tackles some extremly heavy topics such as heartbreak, mental illness, depression, and suicide. Many of the poems are emotionally raw and are based on the author’s real-life experiences. The collection contains forty-five poems, including the two previously mentioned, and a few choice quotes from other authors.
The writing is powerful because it creates vivid visuals that really illustrate the central messages the poems. Several of the poems are also peppered with sharp humor that can be both funny and sobering. I’ve never seen or heard depression talked about as succinctly as in this poetry collection and I’m glad that I read it, even if a few of them made me tear up.
Neil Hilborn’s poetry is definitely an experience and he is easily one of my favorite modern poets, I highly recommend this collection, especially for those that have struggled with mental illness.
Quote
“But isolation is not safety, it is death. If no one knows you’re alive, you aren’t. If a tree falls in the forest and no one’s around to hear it, it does make a sound, but then that sound is gone. I am not saying you will find the meaning of life in other people. I am saying that other people are the life to which you provide the meaning.”
Content Warnings
View Spoiler »About the Author
About Neil Hilborn
Neil Hilborn is a College National Poetry Slam Champion, and a 2011 graduate with honors from Macalester College with a degree in Creative Writing. Neil was a member of the 2011 Macalester Poetry Slam team, which ranked first in the nation. He co-coached the 2012 Macalester team, leading them to a second place finish nationally. He was also a member of the Minneapolis adult National Poetry Slam team in 2011, which placed 5th out of 80 teams from cities across the country at the adult National Poetry Slam. In August of 2013, his poem “OCD” went viral, garnering over 7 million views to date, making it one of the most-viewed poems on YouTube.
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