A poet is launching his fourth book full of surprises, humour and wisdom.

Lewis Hill, 57, of Ealing , will reveal his latest collection of poetry Keepin’ the Beat: And All That Jazz at the Pitshanger book shop on May 21 at 7pm.

Mr Hill, who also writes short stories, says his newest publication is short, succinct, and covers various experiences in his life.

He said: “I hope people will get enjoyment, entertainment and something they can share out of this.

“It is about the joy of living and getting over something significant.

“I always loved English and I started writing because of difficult incidences.

“Some phrase will come to mind and I build a poem around that phrase.”

He added: “The journalist Mariella Frostrup said ‘a poem can take 49 years to distil and five minutes to write’ and I think that’s true.”

The 57-year-old wrote the book, published by AuthorHouse, after his father died in 2011, as writing was a way of dealing with things.

Mr Hill said he started writing when he was studying medicine, and that his grandfather was also a poet.

He said some of his work explores the link between English and Italian as although he grew up in England, he was born in Rome.

One of the pieces in Keepin’ the Beat is about the fact he is partly deaf in his left ear.

Mr Hill’s other poetry books are Milestones and In exilia, and he has a book of short stories called Clasped in Prayer.

People interested in the book launch, which will include a question and answer session, should inform the Pitshanger book shop manager on 0208 991 8131.