Sci Fi Poetry

Flushing resident Rich Stambolian is no stranger to the world of arts and entertainment, working as a writer, filmmaker, artist and musician. He recently made his publishing debut with “Cosmic Tragedies: The Poems of Richard H. Stambolian.”
Last March, Stambolian self-published the collection of poems, which he described as being very fantasy and science fiction oriented. Because of that focus, he said that his poems are set apartment from typical modern poetry.
“I write a lot so at a certain point last year I started writing poetry…and then it all kind of started to have a theme to it,” he said.
Stambolian first submitted his poems to contests and won awards and also showed his work to friends who were writers. He then eventually decided to put it all together as a book. Along with showcasing his writing, “Cosmic Tragedies” also features some of Stambolian’s artwork, which is on some of the inside pages. He also designed the front and back covers of the book.
“People seem to really genuinely like it,” said Stambolian, 26. “The response has been good.”
“Cosmic Tragedies” represents only one area of Stambolian’s artistic endeavors. Two years ago, along with some friends, he founded the film production company, Black Sails Productions. The group offers various services to their clients while also creating their own short films, most of which are comedies. They have had entrants in a couple of film festivals and hope to one day start doing their own full-length features.
Stambolian, who is a huge horror fan, said that his specialty in regards to filmmaking is writing. He also said that he has a lot of projects he is currently working on writing.
For the last three years, Stambolian has been pursuing another passion of his - music. He is a guitarist in the metal band, Like a Death, which does shows in Queens and Manhattan.
As a child, Stambolian had a desire to be a comic book artist. He said that part of him still would like to, or possibly write for comic books. Stambolian does create his own web comic.
Stambolian has plans for several more books, with three in the works right now, including a sequel to “Cosmic Tragedies.” He is also working on a novella about a Vietnam war veteran and a novel, which he refers to as his “epic,” that is set in Japan.
“I like to have my thumbs in a lot of different pies,” Stambolian said.
Stambolian will participate in a reading at the Barnes & Noble in Bay Terrace, along with some other authors, on Thursday, October 11. The authors will be lecturing to junior high school and high school students, although the event is open to the entire community.
To find out more information about “Cosmic Tragedies: The Poems of Richard H. Stambolian,” Black Sails Productions or Stambolian’s other work, visit www.blacksailsproductions or find him on myspace.com. He can also be reached by e-mailing richstambolian@gmail.com.