My name is Clementine Morrigan and I am a writer.
I have been writing all my life and publishing my writing since I was thirteen years old. Some of you have been on this journey with me for a very long time, but if you’re new here let me tell you a little bit about what I do. I am a nonfiction writer, political essayist, philosopher, memoirist, and poet. Most of the writing on this substack falls somewhere between polemic, philosophy, personal essay, and memoir. I use my life as a jumping off point for deep thinking about the world. I am an extensive reader, independent researcher, literary punk, underground writer, and cultural change maker. I take my responsibility to the world very seriously.
I have had a crazy life: I am an incest survivor and child abuse/neglect survivor, who went crazy, was psychiatrized, and became a street involved alcoholic. I was a queer child who came out at fourteen in a small town homophobic high school, dropped out, and moved to the city to attend an alternative high school for queer youth. I spent many years living a life of violent chaos including a staggering amount physical and sexual violence. At 25, I got into nonpsychiatric therapy, got sober, and turned my life around, beginning a lifelong journey of recovering from complex trauma. All throughout my crazy life, I was always writing and making zines. Over the years I built an audience, and once I got sober, my work started to blow up. When I was 30, I made the decision to pursue writing full time and turned my lifelong practice of writing and publishing into a career. When I was 33, I had an international cancellation campaign directed at me based on false accusations, and have been navigating dehumanizing harassment and slander ever since.
Some topics I write about include: recovering from complex trauma, structural dissociation, and disorganized attachment, incestuous family systems, anti-psychiatry and destigmatizing the behaviours of trauma survivors, practicing non-hierarchical polyamory/relationship anarchy as a traumatized person, misogyny, feminism, and gendered violence, bisexuality and queerness, the cycle of violence, intergenerational trauma, and getting to the root of violence so we can end it, cancel culture and dysfunction on the left, scapegoating within abusive family systems and within dysfunctional subcultures, veganism and the dignity on nonhuman people, sexuality, consent, relationships, and attachment, and creating a politics which recognizes and protects the dignity of every living being. My writing is both specific and universal. It is a balm to many whose experiences are stigmatized and marginalized, but I am also told that it is useful to many others who don’t share those experiences.
I have published several books over the years, some independently and some with presses (two of which are translations of my work — I have a very international, multilingual audience): The Size of a Bird, You Can’t Own the Fucking Stars, Sexting, Amor sin emergencia, Fucking Magic, L’art oublié de baiser, and Love Without Emergency.
I hold a strong value of encouraging independent thinking. You don’t need to agree with anything I say in order to be here. I hope that my writing can inspire you in your own process and the development of your own thinking.
This substack is the main home of my creative practice. Much of the writing here eventually finds a home in a zine or a book. Subscribing to this substack allows you first access to the development of my ideas. About half the essays here are free and half are paywalled. A paid subscription helps me to maintain the cultural work I do in the world, much of which is unpaid.
Free subscribers get access to
About half the essays.
Updates about what I’m doing, releases of new zines and books, upcoming workshops and events.
A curated bibliography of my extensive reading practice.
Paid subscribers get access to
All of the essays.
Updates about what I’m doing, releases of new zines and books, upcoming workshops and events.
A curated bibliography of my extensive reading practice.
A huge digital archive of my zines and workshops.
A monthly book club that meets on zoom to discuss a curated selection of books.
A monthly writing club that meets on zoom to develop your writing practice and learn about indie publishing.
A telegram chat for the reading and writing clubs.
The ability to comment on my essays.
Occasional discount codes for my shop.
Other places you can find my work
We are living in a time when creativity, critical thinking, and literacy are under attack. Supporting the work of underground writers is important. So is investing in your own capacity for slow, sustained thinking. My work has always been entirely dependent on the support of my readers. Thank you for being here.
Becoming a paid subscriber makes this work sustainable. If you can’t afford a financial contribution, half the essays will always be free. Liking and sharing my essays is another concrete way to support my work.
You can also make a one time donation if you appreciate an essay.
