Sarah [smith] Smizz

Ten Longbarrow hardbacks, stacked on a diagonal, spines facing outwards.

"A brilliant press." - Ian McMillan
"You'll never see a dud from Longbarrow." - Charlie Connelly

Current publications
longbarrowpress.com/current-publ...

Having the most magical time in & around Italy, that Ryanair thought it was only fair to cancel my weekend flight 😂 I guess I live here now?

They'll tell you that the arts and humanities aren't practical and then read poetry at funerals and weddings, cry over films and search for meaning in ancient philosophy. Surviving is one type of practicality, knowing why we bother is another. — ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ARTS & HUMANITIES THE CAREER ARCHETYPES BY JOEL UILI

Found this on Substack this AM.
Knowing why we survive… yes! 🤘🏼

Today would have been Peter’s 60th birthday.
He was a friend, a mentor, and a fierce believer in doing things differently.

This post is for him. And for anyone navigating the strange, sharp edges of loss, friendship, and living on.

🖇️ smizz.substack.com/p/hows-life-...

think about this a lot.

Britain’s two-child benefit cap must go The government should recognise that it has a stake in its people having enough children

Good piece by @stephenkb.bsky.social . Reversing the winter fuel allowance cut is pure politics but scrapping the two child benefit cap is actually about the merits of the policy on.ft.com/4kz4GJN

Completely agree with this but I still question the value of fiscal rules at all in the world where markets will punish fiscal indiscipline anyway.

Got to use my Japanese paints - that I’ve not been able to use since getting back from Japan - 2 months+ plus ago! - & it was such a joy! Celebrating spring today!

Because my Wordpress is down, I’ve shared my reflective post on my Substack 👇

I’ve been thinking about the odds, of survivorship, & reminding myself the importance of trying to stay & be in the present.

smizz.substack.com/p/the-long-t...

As Alice Wong says in the Introduction to Disability Visibility: "Staying alive is a lot of work for a disabled person in an ableist society."

NGL, I am exhausted.

Was a custard cream haha! Top tier biscuit for energy 🙌

Thanks so much Tamar! 🙏🙏 how are you doing atm??? It’s been ages since we last crossed paths! 🙌

Discussion: What it feels like to have significant “fatigue” rather than just being “tired” The medical term for tiredness is “Fatigue”. It covers basically any word that could be used to describe tiredness – from exhaustion, lethargy, and listlessness, ect. It covers bo…

This remains one of the best things I’ve written about what it *feels* like living with chronic fatigue.

Luckily I don’t have it as bad as when I wrote that. But I do have relapses & I don’t have the same energy I used to have, that I’m always grieving for.

smizz.wordpress.com/2014/06/14/d...

I like that my 100th post on here was acknowledging the weight of carrying significant pain/fatigue/movement/other symptoms of long term conditions / disability.

& there’s a blog post in me about this, that needs to be written. Esp at the moment.

I can tell you tho, that there is a HUGE difference between being alive & FEELING alive.

& if you don’t know what that means, then you have the greatest privilege of all. Decent health & access.

It is not laziness.
It is not a lack of willpower.
It is not something that can be "fixed" with a better attitude, or sheer determination.

It is work—hard, unrelenting work to exist in a world that was not built with you in mind. And often in a body that can feel quite hostile.

It is grief & resilience intertwined, an endless balancing act between pushing through & self-preservation. And I never get the balance right.

It is an experience that reshapes everything—your body, your future, the way you move through the world.

It is waking up every day knowing that pain, fatigue, or symptoms beyond your control will dictate what you can and cannot do. And a lot of people around you will not understand this.

I’ve been quite quiet over the past couple of weeks. I’ve been in & out of hospital, having gnarly issues with my blood.

With everything being talked about on social media atm about disability, I just wanted to try & explain what it’s like living with a chronic illness / disability.

Horror of domestic abuse revealed as survivor thanks refuge for offering a safe haven A survivor of domestic violence who has sought refuge in Rotherham has shared the heartbreaking abuse she suffered at the hands of her ex-partner - after the council announced the service is set to co...

I continued working on this interview even after starting the new job - it is that important

Perhaps one of the most intense and hard-hitting interviews I have and will ever do

www.thestar.co.uk/news/crime/d...

I’ve written about it here on my Substack:

smizz.substack.com/p/the-echo-o...

Wrote this about grief & processing it in Japan.

It’ll be 4 years since my nan passed onto her next life (pancreatic cancer). & it happened during a covid lockdown.

And it’s really annoyed me how after covid, we’ve just denied real time for collective grief.

A random observation about young people and belonging is how much some pre-teens and teens really love and hang on to their primary school leavers' hoodies.

Hospital days make life feel sharp, urgent,& grateful for.
Today, after leaving DRI, I rode my bike home through light so radiant it felt almost holy—gold spilling over rooftops, a soft diffusion of light across the land.
The world, for a moment, was nothing but motion& glow, and I was in it, alive.

The light this early AM commute 😻
So grateful it’s light in the morning now.

Teaching L5 fine art today. This year I’m wracking up so many different disciplines & year/level teaching. 🙌

Happy March! 🌸🌱

Not long to go til Social Work Week.

During the week I’m running two half-day workshops exploring why language matters in social work and social care.

More info and bookings here ⬇️

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/gloriously...

I see Threads has also gone to the dogs now. Urgh.

Can’t explain but this sunset at a shrine , hidden in the hills of Kyoto - off philosophers path way - made me feel all of the feels. Took a million photos to try and capture its beauty & didn’t even come close!