CoDA: Coleman Digital Archives

Project Lead: Elizabeth Podnieks

CoDA involves the creation of a digital scholarly edition of the modernist diaries of American writer Emily Holmes Coleman (1899-1974), whose papers are housed at the University of Delaware (The Emily Holmes Coleman Papers at the University of Delaware Library (external link) ). Moving to Europe in the 1920s, Coleman honed her talents as a surrealist poet and novelist. She also began a diary, one she would keep for over four decades. CoDA is based on Rough Draft: The Modernist Diaries of Emily Holmes Coleman, 1929-1937 (2012), edited by CoDA Project Director and Principal Investigator Elizabeth Podnieks. While Rough Draft represents less than half of the original material kept during these expatriate years, CoDA aims to publish this portion of the diary in its entirety. The first phase of the project is an exhibit published on the Omeka platform, which includes the following: an introduction to the site; scans of 148 manuscript diary pages as well as transcribed versions (with footnotes) for comparison; a personography; and photographs. The second phase will see the publication of the complete modernist diary with a comprehensive encyclopedia and an interactive map, along with related scholarly articles. CoDA illuminates the contributions of Coleman and her circle to transatlantic modernism.