Hoarders
Kate Durbin
Reviewed by CD Eskilson
“On the inside of the house we have furniture, we have clothes, we have toys, and we have demons,” explains Maggie, one of the subjects whose confessions fill Hoarders. The line speaks to a question at the heart of the collection: what deeper forces manifest in the objects we collect? The third collection from artist and poet Kate Durbin, Hoarders writes back to the same-titled reality series to present humanizing portraits of those experiencing the compulsive behavior. Using the show as a vehicle, Durbin explores responses to trauma, addiction, and their complex intersections with consumerism.
The collection is a powerful addition to Durbin’s larger body of work probing pop culture for insight on loneliness and late-stage capitalism. Her previous collection, E! Entertainment (Wonder Press, 2014), chronicles the drama-filled world of The Hills and Real Housewives to ruminate on hyperreal images. Hoarders comes with a similar intent, using the arresting power of line breaks and stanzas to reckon with the collective alienation that is part of our culture.
Hoarders masterfully employs a juxtaposition of narrative and image to emulate the TV-watching experience. Subjects share their backgrounds and the objects they hoard (from Barbies to houseplants to frozen cats) with vivid descriptions of their homes interspersed. “I’m Craig, I’m 58 years old, and I’m tattered American flag next to a boot,” one piece begins, underscoring how we define ourselves through objects we acquire.
These honest and heartbreaking mash-ups replicate the quick camera shots that add shock value to reality TV. However, Durbin’s juxtapositions indict this voyeurism and the impulse to flatten people into disorders. Instead, subjects speak for themselves about the emotional or material conditions behind their hoarding. “My husband was an abusive sociopath fossilized rat” shares Linda, inside a kitchen of rotting food. Such combinations show how trauma can manifest externally while forcing us to consider our implication as mere spectators to suffering.
Hoarders is a striking union of cultural critique with poetic meditation. The poems here offer an unflinching view of a culture centered around consumption and spectacle, while imploring us to move with kindness through the world.