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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

@thellpsx.bsky.social
15K followers 196 following 230 posts

writer, The Way Disabled People Love Each Other, Future Is Disabled, Care Work, Bodymap,Dirty River co-ed w/@ejeris of Beyond Survival ,1/3rd of cripsforesimsforgaza.org. seen a lot, still doing the rest. brownstargirl.org

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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
after a mostly offline summer, I made a big old post exploring what I think of when I think of disabled/ Deaf poetry in a big anti-canon, for the Sealey challenge (kind of) here: llps.substack.com/p/sealey-cha... what would you add?
llps.substack.com
SEALEY CHALLENGE DISABLED/Deaf POETRY LIST (with caveats? plenty)
go!!!!
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Reposted by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Chantal James @chantalalive.blacksky.app · 17/07/2026
Mad folks need to see, look there's a whole bunch like you out here! You good! We're a valid type of person, not a mistake. Folks who go through what you go through are out there. Many of us live incredibly isolated lives & can't reveal a word of our true selves for fear of the violence of stigma.
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Kim Kelly @kimkelly.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
can’t have lettuce can’t have air can’t have nothin
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Andrea Ritchie @dreanyc123.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
True North Aid: www.truenorthaid.ca/donate Mikinakoos’ Emergency Fund: wl.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebL... Follow @moontimeconnections on IG for more info on drop offs & donation links www.instagram.com/moontimeconn...
wl.donorperfect.net
Show your support!
Please support my important cause!
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
This is possibly the worst and widest spread smoke event in N American history and Mask Oakland has some good info and tools.
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Reposted by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Mask Oakland @maskoakland.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Extreme wildfire smoke hits US and Canada. Here's our tiny California wildfire smoke org's advice from 9 years of watching and responding. (slides 1-4 of 8) #wildfiresmoke #canadawildfires #airquality #NewYork #Chicago #Toronto
Mask Oakland on Crisis:
US + Canada Wildfire Smoke
JULY 16, 2026

During West Coast Wildfires since 2017, Mask Oakland has distributed over 500k N95 and KN95 masks to vulnerable communities in the Bay Area and beyond. The current smoke levels in many Northeast US cities have passed 400 AQI (below 50 is normal), reaching hazardous, catastrophic levels.  Even through major wildfire seasons, most have never experienced 400+ AQI, except if they were living down the road from a major wildfire. This is likely the worst smoke event in North American History in terms of severity and population affected.

Most people and governments are under-informed on how dangerous this is. You may want to help. Here is some advice.
@maskoakland 1 of 8, July 2026N95 Masking helps protect against smoke,
staying inside helps, air purifiers help

AQI 150 is unhealthy, you should wear the best mask you can when outdoors.

Which mask? P100 > N95, KN95 > Surgical Mask > Cloth > No mask

Wildfire smoke negatively effects everyone, even if you consider yourself healthy or that it doesn’t bother you much. It is full of toxic junk, including PM 2.5, tiny particles so small your lungs cannot filter them. Those particles then enter your blood stream and essentially scratch up your circulatory system and your organs.

It is very unlikely to be lethal in small or moderate exposure, but each exposure very slightly reduces your long-term lifespan and quality of life. Over time this can add up to significant impact. Hospitalizations do increase during wildfire smoke events. Check on people you know with respiratory challenges. 

Indoor air quality is better than outside, during wildfire crisis, but is not perfectly safe. Close windows, use air purifiers, and mask if you sense levels rising indoors.

Driving is an exposure risk, web search the model of your car and see if it has a cabin air filter, older cars may not. After going outside in smoke, change your clothes and shower, and bag up your dirty clothes.

@maskoakland 2 of 8, July 2026Track the smoke / AQI levels in your area. 

Levels can change quickly and you want to be informed

Media recommends airnow.gov, but it updates using longer and wider averages versus the below which focus more on individual sensors that update every few minutes.

We recommend these apps:
       IQ Air / AirVisual
WatchDuty, and PurpleAir.

But also take breaks from monitoring, or delegate one person in your family or circle or organization to monitor to reduce fatigue from constant tracking.

@maskaoakland 3 of 8 July 2026For very high AQI (300+), start combining strategies, just masking is not enough

The worse it gets the more important it is to combine smoke mitigation strategies. At the highest levels: Masking + Indoors + Air Purifiers + Windows Closed + Reduced exertion.

Every 50-100 AQI above demands new level of response, by 400+, 500+, 600+ we are talking catastrophic levels where even the percentage that gets through your masks filter is not a healthy amount to be taking in.

We’ve helped community members on the frontlines of fires, and when the air is at 600 for an extended period, they end up with significant cognitive impacts, even when huddled on the ground next to their air purifier and wearing a mask as much as they can tolerate.

If you monitor air quality and see somewhere you can drive to that’s below 50, and you are in say, 500, it would offer significant health benefits to even temporarily travel to a “green” air quality area.

@maskoakland 4 of 8
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
thanks everyone who's bought or asked their library to buy my book. if you haven't yet, @arsenalpulp.bsky.social has a great Pride sale on til the end of June: 30% off + free shipping on all 2SLGBTQIA+ titles, both in print & forthcoming (with a min. order of $30 or more)*coupon code is PRIDE
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
My extremely excellent publisher, @arsenalpulp.bsky.social , is having a Pride sale: 30% off + free shipping on all 2SLGBTQIA+ titles, in print & forthcoming (with a min. order of $30 or more) on arsenalpulp.com Coupon code is PRIDE. If you've been waiting to buy my book, this is a good moment
arsenalpulp.com
Arsenal Pulp Press
Arsenal Pulp Press is a book publisher in Vancouver, Canada with over 300 titles currently in print, which include literary fiction and nonfiction; cultural and gender studies; LGBT and multicultural ...
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
threewayfight.org/disability-a... really good and interesting interview with esther warwick about the ways facist views come into disabled communities
threewayfight.org
Disability and the Far Right: Joan Braune interviews Esther Warwick
Esther Warwick discusses the relationship between disability movements and the far right, and how eugenics has influenced laws that harm people with disabilities and people experiencing homelessness.
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
almost forgot, i wrote this, it's good. substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com
sending you a four page letter
disabled grief memory tour time travel two months six years
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
nice nice review of The Way Disabled People Love Each Other. www.thegrindmag.ca/pride-picks-.... "For as much as this collection is furious and devastating, it has made me laugh by pulling the rug out from under my feet. The depths of grief here are unimaginable, but so too is the love. What love."
thegrindmag.ca
Pride Picks: Four New Books
To celebrate Pride Month, the staff at Another Story Bookshop on Roncesvalles recommend Canadian books by queer and trans authors…
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Emi Koyama is an OG of trans, Asian, disabled sex worker and anti violence organizing who is battling cancer; the org she started, Aileen's, provides barrier free support to street sex workers on the Pacific Coast Highway. Donate to keep Aileen's going while Emi fights cancer. gofund.me/cd8374855
gofund.me
Donate to Keep Aileen’s Open While Co-Founder Emi Fights Cancer, organized by Madison Zack-Wu
Please help movement icon and community leader, Emi, by keeping … Madison Zack-Wu needs your support for Keep Aileen’s Open While Co-Founder Emi Fights Cancer
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Stacey day year six llps.substack.com/p/sending-yo...
llps.substack.com
sending you a four page letter
disabled grief memory tour time travel two months six years
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
I did a whole ass disabled tour and didn't post about it at all here, but ins seven weeks we sold between a third and a half of the print run, hit the indie bestseller list nationally one week, every room felt like a disabled family reunion grief ritual. I had a blast & got a concussion. Link below
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
massreview.org/2026/02/27/m...
massreview.org
Martyrs of Knowledge: Remembering Gaza’s University Professors - The Massachusetts Review
Amna (left) and Alaa (right). Note: This is the second of two Public Affairs posts by twin sisters in Gaza, Alaa and Amna Dmeida. The first, by Amna Dmeida, Gaza in the New Year: Countdown to Death, N...
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
nwtrcc.org/resist/how-t...
nwtrcc.org
How To Resist - National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee
There are a number of ways to practice war tax resistance, so you can choose the method that's right for you. Here is a summary of some of these methods.
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
We have to survive to meet the day of victory, or else all our people who have died died in vain. OBVIOUSLY MORE COMPLICATED but that's part of it.
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Alice Wong's Celebration of life March 25th, 2026 11am PST
This toolkit is an invitation and a resource for individuals and communities to participate in Alice Wong's Celebration of Life. 
Be it from bed, your living room, local community center, classroom, or in the streets... 
You can join Alice's Celebration of Life through: 
* The livestream + virtual reception: Join the livestream and gather for the virtual reception hosted by Calling UP Justice & San Francisco Disability Cultural Center. 
* In-person livestream watch + your own gathering: host an in-person gathering to join the livestream and connect in person to celebrate Alice. 
* Detailed Toolkit with links, photos, and resources to make your gathering accessible, plus ways to honor Alice Wong's legacy: https://bit.ly/aliceislove
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
chuffed.org/project/crip... this is my regular reminder that we are still here and working to stay out of the red. Celebrate and honor Ramadan by considering spreading the word and donating to us. Let Gaza communications ring freely. You can't stop the signal.
chuffed.org
Crips for eSims for Gaza
Crips for eSims for Gaza is a collaboration between Jane Shi, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, and Alice Wong.
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
hi! cookbook.miseryparty.org/miserymeals this is extremely wonderful and I got to write about my girlfiend aka frozen GF pizza with stuff on it, and the afterward. pre order dropped
cookbook.miseryparty.org
misery meals: a crip community anti-cookbook for when eating and cooking is hard
How do we feed ourselves when we can’t get out of bed? When we aren’t even sure we want to be alive? When every time we try to make rice, it feels like the first time?misery meals is a choose-your-own...
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Ramadan Kareem and happy Year of the Fire Horse! Let's charge into this year with discipline and freedom. I am once again asking you so send some monies so crips for e sims so we can keep things topped up and start sending new eSims again.
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
If you're disabled (broadly defined) and BIPOC or QTBIPOC and have a book coming out in the next year, please drop the link in the comments.
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
I am mostly offline but I'm just going to say, idk, watch or read Democracy Now today for captioned and voice/ video updates and otg reporting from MSP? www.democracynow.org
democracynow.org
Democracy Now!
A daily TV/radio news program, hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, pioneering the largest community media collaboration in the U.S.
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Reposted by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Stardog the Red @stardogthered.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
Haymarket Books has made three of their eBooks free for download during this time of turmoil. You can get copies of: "Unbuild Walls" by Silky Shah, "Border & Rule" by Harsha Walia, and "The Case for Open Borders" By John Washington.
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
Oh and hey- A Heated Rivalry print (an art commission by Tasha Kim (@ink_lings) on Instagram) + a poem from @pipagaopoetry.bsky.social with a donation to us: bit.ly/GayHockeyShow (unfortunately a google form and you have to sign in first... if anyone has suggestions for better forms LMK!)
A drawing in orange and purple tones of the two main characters from Heated Rivalry, Shain Hollander and Illya Rosenoff, sitting on a beach looking at the sunet, with the words "I looked up that word. Compatible."
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
Also I got Autistic Barbie and I fucking wish @sfdirewolf.bsky.social was alive to see this.
Two barbies, one iwth giant turquoise curly hair, a bomber jacket, big sunglasses and yellow crocs next to two kittens with crowns on a skateboard, sis next to Autistic Barbie, a long brown haired neurodivergent femme with a loose lilac dress, an AAC device, pink fidget sinner and noise cancelling headphones, sittong on top of a sideboard. They are clearly friends. Small plants in pots and hand weights are seen in the background.
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
@pipagaopoetry.bsky.social and me were on @reallandsend.bsky.social's Death Panel podcast to talk about Crips for eSims for Gaza, "how disabled people built and sustained an internationalist solidarity mutual aid project under siege, grief + death." on.soundcloud.com/utzFoAVtN4OK...
soundcloud.com
Crips for eSims for Gaza w/ Jane Shi & Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha (01/22/26)
To support the show and help make episodes like this one possible, become a patron at www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod Beatrice speaks with Jane Shi and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha about their work
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
love MSP style
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
llps.substack.com/p/2026-and-i... new world war 3 griefstack just dropped.
open.substack.com
2026 and I think a lot about what Alice would be doing
DJ TJ practice, tools and poetry, structural engineering, archive in progress from a real one known to be on one.
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Jane Shi | 皮爬高 echolalia echolalia is out now @pipagaopoetry.bsky.social · 25/12/2025
Two years ago today, the three of us began Crips for eSims for Gaza. Alice, are you reading this? (We know you are.) Today, we’re launching something special we’ve been working on, & we’re grateful Alice was able to see before her passing: our official logo! #ConnectingGaza @thellpsx.bsky.social
an upright orange SIM card and green and light green kufiya pattern inside where the SIM chip is, a teal background, and the green Knock Out typography in all caps reading CRIPS FOR ESIMS FOR GAZA
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 26/12/2025
wo years ago today, the three of us began Crips for eSims for Gaza. Alice, are you reading this? (We know you are.) Today, we’re launching something special we’ve been working on, and we’re grateful Alice was able to see before her passing: our official logo! #ConnectingGaza
a background of scalloped layers resembling a gradient in different shade of teal
“Crips for eSims for Gaza
Alice Wong, Forever” in bubbly fuzzy black text

“Two-Year Anniversary Update 12/25/25 61,107 eSims + top ups purchased $3.2 million CAD ($2.34M USD) raised 20K+ eSims activated in total 5034 eSims currently active” in Knock Out Cruiserweight font 

Three orange-, blood-orange- grapefruit-coloured SIM cards, the second one upside down, both with green and white kufiya patterns inside where the SIM chip is. Inside the last SIM card is a green QR code.
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
always wanted to be a brown queer crip artist during the eugenics wars 😏 (smirk emoji)
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
"Alice lives!"- Suheir Hammad.
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
"There are more of us (trans people) being born everyday. They cannot stop the future"- Natalie Rupp on Louisiana's Trans Income Project, getting cash directly to trans people to get gender affirming care after cuts and legal barriers. soundcloud.com/deathpanel/a...
soundcloud.com
An Oral History of Trans Income Project w/ Natalie Rupp (11/13/25)
To support the show and help make episodes like this one possible, become a patron at www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod Beatrice speaks with Natalie Rupp of Trans Income Project about their work providin
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
ASL vlog about this Care Work as Mutual Aid panel I am gonna be on this Thursday: www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7b0...
youtube.com
ASL Care Work as Mutual Aid | Thursday, December 11, 2025 4:00 PM → 5:30 PM
YouTube video by San Francisco Disability Cultural Center
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Also listened to this teaser of the latest @deathpanel.bsky.social podcast on pandemic year 6 and the fascists' attempts to bring back the Era of the Total Institution post doing my post surgery final PT appointment (it's a teaser and still v full.) soundcloud.com/deathpanel/t...
soundcloud.com
Teaser - Empty Rights and Underlying Conditions
Note: This week we're hard at work on Covid Year Six, our annual year in review. This year's show has gotten so big that we're splitting it into two episodes: December 15th: Covid Year Six December
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
www.kqed.org/news/1206519... it's going to be a month in a few days which is surreal and wild. I cried reading this, and, got a lot out of people sharing how we are carrying @sfdirewolf.bsky.social 's work forward.
kqed.org
After Alice Wong’s Death, Her Friends Vow to Keep Fighting for Disability Justice | KQED
Friends, activists and policy experts reflect on Alice Wong’s legacy as looming Medicaid cuts threaten critical services for disabled people in California and nationwide.
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
givebutter.com/CycloneFundf... we're a week into the cyclone and there's still huge issues in Sri Lanka and other areas, this is a fund getting resources to Tamil, Muslim and TGNC folks in the North and East.
givebutter.com
Urgent Appeal: Disaster Relief Fund for Tamil, Muslim, Malayaham, and Gender-Diverse Communities
By Arokiyam pour toustes
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Reposted by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Puff the Magic Hater @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
Read This When Things Fall Apart is now 25% off when purchased through AK Press. www.akpress.org/read-this-wh...
The cover for the book, Read This When Things Fall Apart: Letters to Activists in Crisis. The cover art features a person wading into a body of water in the woods at night.
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Reposted by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
G. Willow Wilson @gwillow.me · 29/11/2025
The death of browsing is part of the reason art is the way it is now. Our opinions are largely fed to us by algorithms. Spending a spare 15 minutes wandering around a bookstore or comic shop or video rental place was how you found stuff you wouldn't ordinarily pick up and thereby expanded your taste
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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 30/11/2025
Enshittification is depressing Everything that was cool is struggling to survive or has become a deranged version of itself And it’s everywhere. Ugh
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Jane Shi | 皮爬高 echolalia echolalia is out now @pipagaopoetry.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
a year and 11 months of Crips for eSims for Gaza ;-; waiting for you to see this post, Alice! T_T #ConnectingGaza bit.ly/eSimsRUs
bit.ly
Crips for eSims for Gaza
Crips for eSims for Gaza is a collaboration between Jane Shi, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, and Alice Wong.
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Hey we the living: @dopegirlfresh.blacksky.app has a fundraiser for some badly needed disability and getting out of hell needs. www.gofundme.com/f/support-my... check it out and support if you can.
gofundme.com
Donate to Support My Journey to Safety and Health, organized by Lenée A. Voss
Hi, I'm Lenée. I am an organizer and cultural worker. I need your help to get ou… Lenée A. Voss needs your support for Support My Journey to Safety and Health
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
lithub.com/remembering-.... read this achingly beautiful piece by @thrasherxy.bsky.social I keep thinking, @sfdirewolf.bsky.social was irreplaceable but she nurtured a whole-ass huge forest (or series of forests). No one can replace her, except for all of us doing the work she nurtured in us.
lithub.com
Remembering Alice Wong: Writer, Advocate, Friend
Though we were in frequent conversation for a decade, I only got to meet my friend Alice Wong in person just once. And when I did, I  was a bundle of nerves—and that was before she cussed me out wi…
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
thank you and love you Steven. <3
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
llps.substack.com/p/alice-wong.... what is remembered lives. @pipagaopoetry.bsky.social and me wrote our assess off on our Crips for eSims memory song for our beloved @sfdirewolf.bsky.social . #AliceForever
llps.substack.com
Alice Wong was Crips for eSims for Gaza, and Everything to Us
by Jane Shi and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
amazing essay the @georgiastraight.bsky.social did with @pipagaopoetry.bsky.social about Crips for E Sims- I think it's the biggest media coverage of our two year project and sums up well what the work has been like www.pressreader.com/canada/the-g... IDK why direct link doesn't come but here
pressreader.com
PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions
Digital newsstand featuring 7000+ of the world’s most popular newspapers & magazines. Enjoy unlimited reading on up to 5 devices with 7-day free trial.
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Reposted by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
DISCO Network @disconetwork.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
We're so excited for TOMORROW ❤️‍🔥 Join us at 4:00 PM ET for a virtual conversation on crip wisdom, critique, and how to survive techno-hellscapes between @beza.bsky.social, @christateston.bsky.social, @thellpsx.bsky.social, @remiyergeau.bsky.social, & The Cyborg Jillian Weise
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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
this is tomorrow at noon et as part of the show, some of my fav people, still time to register: www.eventbrite.ca/e/to-disabil...
eventbrite.ca
…. to disability justice now
…. to disability justice now: a conversation between Leah Lakshimi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Annanda DeSilva, Gem Hall and Wy Joung Kou
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