By Hailey Murphy
Neil Hilborn, the most watched spoken-word poet of all time, performed a set at Western on Thursday night. His poem OCD– which you’ve likely seen– has been viewed over 13 million times.
Put on by the Poets and Lyricist Society, the event drew a large crowd to Miller Hall. This crowd was in for lots of laughs– some from the poems, of course, but also some from his commentary in between.
“It’s nice to be here in Canada,” Hilborn joked.
But there were a few tears shed, too. Hilborn’s work often discusses mental illness and suicide. As Hilborn told the crowd, he was diagnosed with Obsessive-compulsive disorder at 11 years old and Bipolar disorder at 22, which has shaped much of his work.
Yet not all of that work is sad. While Hilborn weaves themes of depression in his poems, he also loves to make light of his experiences with dark humor.
“If suicide jokes are a problem for you, this set is going to be rough,” Hilborn said to the crowd.
In addition to OCD, Hilborn read Me, but Happy, and The Future, two of his most viewed poems online.
“The point is, here is a list of things my brain has told me to do: join a cult; start a cult; become a cabinet maker; break into, and then paint, other people’s houses; have sex with literally everyone who reminds me of my mother; fight people who are much fightier than me, like the cops, so in essence, kill myself.” – from The Future
He then read about how much he hates cats, about how Aaron Rodgers can be depressed, too, about a friend nicknamed Fuck Knuckle Jones and about failed tinder profiles.
You ever eat an enchilada, think about it all day, and then realize you might be depressed? was one of the many rejected tinder bios.
Among the laughs, Hilborn reminded the audience to care for those going through mental illness. The best way to be there, he said, is to not fix everything in their life but just to be there in the present moment.
Hilborn has two books of poetry collections– Our Numbered Days and The Future. He’s a National College Poetry Slam champion.