WHEN WORDS BECOME VITAMINS: ANTHONY PETER PRIOR ON CREATIVITY, RESILIENCE AND SEEING DIFFERENTLY

September 10, 2026September 10, 2026 NewsDesk Abstract Words Are Vitamins, Accessibility, Anthony Peter Prior, Art and Literature, Authors, books, British Artists, British Authors, British Publishers, British Writers, Contemporary Poetry, Creative Expression, Creative industries, Creativity, Disability, Identity, Literature, London Business Journal, mental wellbeing, Multiple Sclerosis, Partial Sight, Poetry, Resilience, Stratford-upon-Avon, Visual Art

The Stratford-upon-Avon writer and visual artist transforms unconventional language into a deeply personal exploration of identity, mental well-being and the determination to continue creating.

British writer and visual artist Anthony Peter Prior.Image credit: Courtesy of Anthony Peter Prior / British Publishers — British writer and visual artist Anthony Peter Prior. Image credit: Courtesy of Anthony Peter Prior / British Publishers

For Anthony Peter Prior, words are not simply instruments of communication. They carry colour, rhythm, memory and emotional nourishment. In his poetry collection, Abstract Words Are Vitamins, the British writer and visual artist invites readers to experience language as something capable of strengthening the mind, reshaping perspective and helping people navigate life’s disorder.

Based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Anthony describes himself as a painter who writes and a writer who paints. Having studied art in Bristol, he spent much of his working life at the easel before allowing writing to become another extension of his visual imagination. Rather than separating the two disciplines, he brings them together: his artwork gives his writing a distinctive eye, while language provides another canvas for the ideas, feelings and observations that occupy his mind.

Anthony Peter Prior pictured in his studio, surrounded by the paintings and creative materials that connect his visual art with his writing.Image credit: Courtesy of Anthony Peter Prior / British Publishers — Anthony Peter Prior pictured in his studio, surrounded by the paintings and creative materials that connect his visual art with his writing. Image credit: Courtesy of Anthony Peter Prior / British Publishers

That creative relationship lies at the heart of Abstract Words Are Vitamins. Through experimental verse, rhythmic wordplay, humour and philosophical reflection, Anthony explores identity, morality, belonging, confidence, depression and the human desire to make sense of experience. His poems do not always travel in straight lines. They move through repetition, unexpected turns and shifting associations, reflecting how thoughts often emerge before they can be arranged into a conventional order.

Behind the playfulness is a story of considerable personal resilience. Anthony lives with multiple sclerosis and partial sight, experiences that have altered both how he sees the world and how he responds to it creatively. Yet his work is not defined solely by adversity. It is shaped equally by curiosity, independence and the refusal to stop creating. Through poetry and art, he turns personal challenges into new ways of observing, interpreting and expressing life.

Abstract Words Are Vitamins by Anthony Peter Prior explores the relationship between language, identity, creativity and emotional resilience.Image credit: Book cover supplied by British Publishers — Abstract Words Are Vitamins by Anthony Peter Prior explores the relationship between language, identity, creativity and emotional resilience. Image credit: Book cover supplied by British Publishers

This is what gives the collection relevance beyond the boundaries of poetry. At a time when conversations about mental well-being, accessibility and creative expression are becoming increasingly important, Anthony’s work demonstrates that language can provide room for uncertainty without demanding immediate answers. Confusion can become exploration; vulnerability can coexist with humour; and fragmented thoughts can still form something meaningful.

Published through British Publishers, Abstract Words Are Vitamins represents the work of an author unwilling to force imagination into familiar patterns. It asks readers to listen not only for literal meaning, but also for movement, sound and feeling.

For Anthony, creativity is not an escape from reality. It is a way of meeting reality differently – and discovering that the right words, encountered at the right moment, may offer precisely the nourishment a mind needs.

BOOK AVAILABILITY

Abstract Words Are Vitamins by Anthony Peter Prior is available through Amazon and selected online booksellers.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Abstract-Words-Vitamins-Anthony-Peter/dp/1918732647

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