Pre-Face: Cramped as they are for working space

...the margin may be a place of relegation, or of voluntary exile, but for those whose natural habitat it is (and I speak of my friends), this is one place for active people to be. There are others.

"To start with, the marginal position should not be mistaken for plain dissent, which in terms of 'stance' or 'posture' often merely inverts what it dissents from, and re-institutionalises; nor does the margin involve secession (or even countenance it). Margin dwellers are balancers, contributory yet withdrawn. Bridges may be built there, or ropes thrown across, though more often, connections are merely pointed to; alternatives weighed and canvassed; sources noted. The line that divides the margin from the text is more than one of address and identity - there is usually an economic barrier - but it is wise to remember that the margin needs its text. Forgetful of this a margin is apt to become a chasm. (...)Recognisably the expertise of a marginal is apt to be narrow but deep; a feaure that suits their habitat; but of course when the marginals find the text wholly unacceptable they will tend to develop their own purssuits in some depth, cramped as they are for working space. On the other hand a margin's interactive function - even if temporarily suspended- is actually a saving grace. The margin does not hesitate to foray into the text when its offerings otherwise go unheeded, or when food is scarce. There can even be frivolity, and an exchange of artifacts."

Norman Potter, Models & Constructs, Hyphen Press, 1990