The Evesham Journal’s entertainments editor, Gary Bills-Geddes, is one of nine equal runners up for the 2020 Robert Frost Poetry Competition, in a selection process with just one winner.

Gary, who writes poetry as Gary Bills, was the only UK poet in the final mix, for the American-based competition, run by the Frost Foundation.

Gary said: “It’s nice to be counted because Frost actually lived in the Dymock area for a while, close to Ledbury, where I live.” Last weekend saw more international news for Gary, who published his first full collection of poetry, The Echo and the Breath (Peterloo), as far back as 2001.

An excerpt from one of the poems in the collection was been selected by Poetry on the Lake, based on Italy, to mark World Poetry Day – and to celebrate the themes of solitude and joy in difficult times.

The Poetry on the Lake site, including the page for World Poetry Day, can be viewed at poetryonthelake.org