Glaring Through Oblivion

By Serj Tankian and Roger Kapelion

Stunning poems of darkness and light by the Grammy Award–winning System of a Down singer, songwriter, activist, and author of Cool Gardens.

In this strikingly illustrated book of original poetry, System of a Down fans gain an intimate glimpse into the soul of the band's frontman, Serj Tankian. For fans stirred by the cerebral lyrics of SOAD albums Hypnotize, Mesmerize, Steal This Album!, Toxicity, and their first, self-titled breakthrough—and for everyone enthusiastic about Serj’s solo projects—this essential, one-of-a-kind collection of Tankian’s innermost thoughts and feelings is a must-read. Unique artwork by Roger Kupelian punctuates nearly 70 poems—almost none of which have ever been published before. Glaring through Oblivion is an indispensable find for fans.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Mar 22, 2011
• ISBN: 9780062087768

Book preview

Reviews for Glaring Through Oblivion

[michael5rimmer · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm rating this book at three stars based on the artwork of Roger Kupelian, which is gorgeously vibrant; a collection of atmospherically surreal montages. On its own, Kupelian's work comes in at a solid 4/5 stars. Tankian's poetry, however, strikes me as something that Rik, the People's Poet, might have come up with after dropping out of university. It's not that I disagree with Tankian's position on the issues raised in his largely political poems, but he's as subtle as a brick through a window, overly-earnest and seemingly desperate to show his radical colours. A few neat lines aside, there's a lot of tortuously overwrought imagery, doggerel rhymes and a lurking leavening of lumpen alliteration. I do feel I'm getting a little carried away with my criticism; a lot of work has obviously gone into Tankian's work ... though, perhaps that's the problem.Anyway, the book has generally good ratings on this and other book reviews sites, perhaps from fans of Tankian's band, System of a Down, or perhaps he's just not my cup of tea and there's a quality to his work I'm missing. Bought on a whim, a roll of the dice that was partially successful, partially a disappointment.