 | |
| Author | Serj Tankian |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Roger Kupelian |
| Cover artist | Sako Shahinian |
| Country | China |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Poetry |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
Publication date | March 22, 2011 |
| Pages | 128 |
| ISBN | 978-0-06-201205-0 |
| OCLC | 641532445 |
| Preceded by | Cool Gardens |
Glaring Through Oblivion is a 2011 book of poetry written by Serj Tankian, the American lead singer of the band System of a Down. It is his second book of poetry, after Cool Gardens (2002). Glaring Through Oblivion was published by HarperCollins Publishers and printed in China, and released on March 22, 2011.
The book begins with a prose essay, written several days after the September 11 attacks, about how Tankian feared to speak his opinions because of threats against him and his band, after he had written an essay two days after the attacks in which he blamed United States foreign policy for terrorism.[1] The prose ends with Serj promising "I, myself, have vowed to never ever again hold my tongue."
Some of the poems contain lyrics that ended up in some of his songs, although sometimes a bit modified. Some poems consist of only one line and do not have a title. The last poem in the book, "Borders", actually was to become a whole song on his second album Imperfect Harmonies; the song "Borders Are..." contains elements of that poem as well as from several poems from cool gardens.