Warm greetings, my friend.
I am glad that you are here, on this webpage and upon the Earth. Allow me to introduce myself.
My {first, English} name is Margin, like the margin of a page, or of what’s possible. My {middle, Mandarin} name is Tianya | 天涯, which translates as “the margins of the heavens.” My {last, family} name is 郑 | Zheng, which is the name of a regional state that existed during the Zhou (周) dynasty of China.
My pronouns are they/them/theirs. I do not like honorifics, but if you insist on using one for me, I permit Mx. or Mz. I reside in the vicinity of Philadelphia, PA, United States.
I am a composer and performer of music, a mathematics tutor, a writer, an interdisciplinary artist, a wounded healer. I am a proudly Mad and neuroqueer soul and am learning to navigate the world in my transgressive bodymindspirit. But most importantly, I am philosopher, artist, awakener. (Read this essay to learn what I mean.)
Marginal Notes is split into two sections that each serve a different purpose:
The Updates section consists of posts that each provide an update on my life and artistic projects, a feature of a cool creative person whose work I want to boost, and a contemplative offering, or questions for personal reflection. I post an Update at the end of each month.
The Essays section is more like a blog, containing posts that pertain to whatever topics are on my mind, often relating to my personal experiences. Most often, I write about mental health, neurodivergence, spirituality, and social justice. I publish an Essay each week that I don’t publish an Update.
Substack allows you to subscribe to one of these sections and not the other. To change your subscription, go to https://substack.com/settings and go down to “Subscriptions.”
I invite you to join me in this journey. To take intellectual risks, challenging every threat of orthodoxy, including the orthodoxy of the margins. To open ourselves up to our M/madness, our bubbling strangeness, and thus to our growth.
Subscribe to get full access to Marginal Notes. Never miss a post.
Stay up-to-date
You won’t have to worry about missing anything. Every new edition of the newsletter goes directly to your inbox.
Join the crew
Be part of a community of people who share your interests.
To find out more about the company that provides the tech for this newsletter, visit Substack.com.
