Clatter

by Neil Hilborn

Clatter is Hilborn’s second chapbook, produced both before and after his severe concussion in a bicycle accident. Written in museums, ex-girlfriends’ kitchens, and Mexico, the chapbook shows Neil’s breadth of style as well as his humor.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Ebooks

25 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Neil Franz · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is impossible to imagine a color you have not seen.

[Sleepless Dreamer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neil Hilborn is one of my favorite poets out there. I really wished this was longer because it was beautiful.

I read this while listening to September Stories' "This House Was Never Home" and is really worked well together. I've got to get back to doing graphic design stuff but yeah, this is definitely a collection I'll come back to.

What I'm Taking With Me
- "Clatter" and "Leaving Sonnet" were my favorites.
- The poem about the Vatican was also fantastic.
- I liked this collection even more than I liked Our Numbered Days.

[pəˈteɪtəʊ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't feel it the way I should feel words.

[Nikhil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neil Hilborn, the performer, passionately spewed the poems at breakneck speed in my head as Neil Hilborn, the writer, carefully unraveled the weight of life around him.

This is a far cry from Our Numbered Days, and it really shows how different Neil's perspectives were when he wrote this. That being said, as usual, he is funny, relatable, and highly introspective. I hope he keeps well and stays mentally healthy.

Clatter is, as the title may suggest, the standout poem of this chapbook but the other poems are just as intriguing.

God bless Neil Hilborn. We need more modern poets like him.

[elsewhere · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Clatter" by Neil Hilborn mainly talked about mental health, loss, and relationships. These poems were written so well; I liked the metaphors and the images that Hilborn had been able to bring out using his words.

From Independence Day

I know I’m not dying
but I do have bipolar disorder and that
feels like dying once every two or three

days, it feels like going under the unders,
it feels like your heart exploding slow,

and I’m not going to die, I’m not, not while
she’s here, not while there is something I have

yet to do, but I am only twenty two and I hear
it gets worse. If it gets worse maybe she won’t

love me anymore. If it gets worse I won’t even
be able to tell her how it’s getting worse.

My actual rating for this chapbook was 3.5 stars.

[Rachel Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate Neil Hilborn's poetry. I find him much more realistic and genuine than a lot of other poets, and so with the poems in Clatter, I found myself identifying with or agreeing with many of the isolated lines. The poems as a whole were powerful and moving, funny and question-raising, which I enjoyed. Not all of the poems were a huge hit with me, but overall Clatter was a very refreshing collection of poetry.

[sophie]

I don't like this collection because a particular poem called 'Como Conservatory, St Paul, Summer' hit too close to home and unearthed in me the greatest fears I try - believe me, I do - to keep buried. I love you, darling. I love you, I love you: who am I?

Aside from that - there's too little to digest thoroughly. A lot of it was meh. A few lines were good. I liked the part about 'the bed: eater of mornings, the altar on which we try to become each other'.

[Luke Gorham · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hard yikes. Best thing I can say is, though I don't much get behind Hilborn in general, he's certainly improved leagues since this embarrassment. My sense of time beyond the recent few months is always flattened, but I would have swore all published poetry at this drippy-basement-level came post-Rupi/Atticus. I can admit when I'm wrong, as this 2013 chapbook fully mistakes feelings for poetry. Puke emoji.

[Erin Clements · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been a huge fan of Neil Hilborn for years, and his poetry never ceases to amaze me. Clatter was a short, beautiful, and heartwrenching read, much like his more recent poetry. As a collection, though, the poetry isn't as strong as his more recent poems are, likely because he was less experienced when writing them. In spite of that, though, Clatter is definitely still worth the read.

[Saurav · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave it 4 stars because I think I don't understand poetry so well that I can run around throwing out those weird sparkling 5 stars, someday I will. But definitely not today. I have been a huge fan of Neil after seeing his spoken words. This book is like every poem of his too real that it makes more sense than anything.

[Anika · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like a few poems more than I like others. I think that the ones Neil Hilborn performed are much better than the ones in this book. The book gets better with the poem 'Clatter'. There were too many things going on and too many metaphors that didn't connect. Although I like running off in tangents with different trains of thoughts, I think with a poem you want it all to connect.

[Natalija Kuznecov · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am just
carbon and bad timing.
If I were someone
else I think I would still be mentally ill.
It is impossible to imagine a color
you have not seen.

Loved it so much more than "Our numbered days". Full of metaphors, subtle but bursting with emotions. Left an amazing impression of me, this book is a friend I needed today.

[Naydia Westerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it.

This was a fantastic read. The collection title is perfect. I appreciate the author writing so honestly, it is like being in his head and at the same time being in your own. I could understand and feel the weight of his truths... I'll be reading it again.

[Khushboo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the poems in the book. They were lovely to read even while I found some poems to be incomprehensible. But I disliked the fact that there were so less poems in the book. I needed more of them.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Napalm is just gasoline and plastic. I am just carbon and bad timing.”

I love NH. I loved watching him perform some of these poems through his videos on YouTube his work is always beautiful and meaningful

[Flo Gourmel]

Haven’t read poetry in ages! That’s why I won’t rate this book. How do you rate poetry? It’s tough.
But I like Neil Hilborn. It was one of the first people I heard talking about mental health on social media.

[Chisenga Zulu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neil is so easily my favorite poet. Reading about this being his first book makes everything sensible. There is so much depth, soul and connection in this book. It possesses a kind of emotion, one that is not built in a short period of time but over a long period of time.

[Floor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great, I'll have to reread it at some point.

[Finnegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite short, but Neil Hilborn fails to disappoint. Very personal poems, very beautiful.

[HighFidelity · Rating 4 out of 5]

It may be short but it is the sweetest.

[connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars

I am a big fan of Neil Hilborn's style, the voice he creates in each of his poems, the themes he covers- this is a really moving collection, and I'm glad I discovered him!

[Shannon Boote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heartbreaking and real cutting to the soul of personal loss and coming to terms with life

[Iris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big issue that there wasn't more of this book

[Samantha Aspinall · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I am just
carbon and bad timing. If I were someone
else I think I would still be mentally ill.
It is impossible to imagine a color
you have not seen."

[Marilyn Raquel ❤✨ · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Sex is another way of communicating with your body like self-harm or sign language."

[mightazerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

i don’t let anybody touch me but that’s my problem. the way i’d like to be that girl neil writes about

[Jessy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like his previous collection I have read, this collection had tidbits that hit me hard amongst a lot that seems superficial.

[Keeloween · Rating 3 out of 5]

idk how this made me feel lol

[Kasturi Banerjee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[charlie chaplin · Rating 4 out of 5]

the past is always yelling and Bobby’s

just saying welcome home motherfucker.

Bobby has been better for a year.

I haven’t let him hug me in a year.