Bloodstains in the Shadows is a poetry collection with a difference. It is the book to bridge the gap that has opened up between the Japanese verse forms and mainstream western poetryaa book of startling contrasts that uses a range of poetic forms to take the reader on a helter-skelter ride of emotion, where snippets of humour and happiness are surrounded by the darker side of life, where simple pleasure mingles with the pain of broken relationships, abuse and intolerance. In short, it is the world as seen from the perspective of an emerging poet longing for simple stability in a volatile world. This book will touch you as all good poetry should. Taste the pleasure, feel the pain, and donat forget the name. Clive Oseman is a poet with a future.