Jake Goldsmith is an author with cystic fibrosis and a list of other chronic health conditions. He lives in Suffolk, England.

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His writing focuses mostly on the phenomenology of illness, intellectual history, philosophy, and how illness defines one’s experiences.

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His memoir Neither Weak Nor Obtuse was originally published in 2019 and explores Jake's literary and philosophical influences, as well as the perceptions and realities of living with a life-limiting chronic illness.

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The title of the book comes from a phrase within a letter Boris Pasternak sent to Albert Camus in 1957, stating that while there may not be anything beyond ‘sensualism’, a sensualism that is completely naked and extreme becomes 'weak and obtuse'. This limitation is explored in Jake’s work.

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A new edition of Neither Weak Nor Obtuse was published by Sagging Meniscus Press in July 2022. You can order it here. 

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A collection of short essays titled In Hospital Environments: Essays on Illness & Philosophy, featuring illustrations by Wend Rend, was published in May 2024.

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Some of Jake's main intellectual influences include Svetlana Alexievich, Raymond Aron, W.N.P. Barbellion, Albert Camus, Baltasar Gracián, Michel de Montaigne, La Rochefoucauld, Manès Sperber, Bernard Williams, and Simone Weil.

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Jake is the founder and director of The Barbellion Prize, an international book prize for ill and disabled authors.

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More From Jake:

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Jake is a Contributing Editor to the quarterly literary magazine Exacting Clam, where he writes short essays on illness, philosophy, and history. 

 

Royal Papworth Hospital was published in Issue 2 of Exacting Clam - Autumn 2021.

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On Illness and Possibility was published in Issue 3 of Exacting Clam - Winter 2021.

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Disabled Thoughts was published in Issue 5 of Exacting Clam - Summer 2022.

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Spurious Thoughts was published in Issue 7 of Exacting Clam - Winter 2022.

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Yet More Thoughts was published in Issue 9 of Exacting Clam - Summer 2023.

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A Brief Note on the Use of Aronian Liberalism was published in Issue 10 of Exacting Clam - Autumn 2023.

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Distrust and Expertise — A Brief Note was published in Issue 11 of Exacting Clam - Winter 2023.

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Words and Clarity was published in Issue 13 of Exacting Clam - Summer 2024. 

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Autistic Liberalism was published in Issue 14 of Exacting Clam - Autumn 2024.

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On Conservation was published in Issue 15 of Exacting Clam - Winter 2024.

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