A SALISBURY poet has looked back to his nomadic existence of the 1980s for the release of his latest anthology.

Moving from squat to squat, the musician and poet Paul Pegasus spent his free time reflecting on the world around him through verse and prose throughout the 80s.

More than 40 years on, the pensioner has now released an anthology featuring much of his work from those distant days spent on the streets of Bristol and London.

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This Writing Contains Escape Routes is an uncompromising look into the mind of someone living on the edge of society.

This latest collection, written with both anger and tenderness, comes from a time of mass unemployment, street riots, and a bleak future, Mr Pegasus said.

His work has been heavily influenced by Arthur Rimbaud and Antonin Artaud.

“These poems and works of prose were mainly written in the 1980s,” he said.

“In the early 1980s I used to visit St Pauls – the Afro Caribbean area in Bristol – at midday and write every afternoon.

“When I moved to London in the mid-1980s, I would write in the various squats I lived in.

“At times I would also write art manifestos – the remnants of which are contained in This Writing Contains Escape Routes.”

As well as two five-star-rated novellas – Imagination and Bittersweet Friday – Mr Pegasus has previously published two collections of poetry.

His 2021 anthology, Asylym, featured work from his spells on the wards recovering from breakdowns in a Salsbury mental hospital.

And his previous year’s release, 64 Poems, captured his turbulent life in the late 1980s living in a derelict hotel in London’s Belsize Park.

While not exactly a prequel, his latest work covers the five or six years leading up to his time at Belsize Park.

He added: “I used to go out and walk the streets of London every day.

“I would often end up at the Tate Modern or the national galleries before taking a tube home to write a poem in the evening.”

For more details, visit Amazon and search for Paul Pegasus, where the paperback and Kindle formats of This Writing Contains Escape Routes are both available.