ABSTRACT
Marginalia and modernism are forward thinking. A difference between the two, however, is that readers add notes in books with the thought of returning to them, even if they know this may not be the case. The longevity of the liberal arts, they argue, is indicative of its enduring value. In addition to a better understanding of the discipline, the ability to search syllabi at the level of the word can also enable new considerations of modernism’s formation in academic institutions. Digital and material modernist scholarship returns us to the spaces that surround texts. The author can devote new attention to teaching and the process of creating materials, as well as the ongoing relationships that writers have to the texts they read and teach. These observations will take on new life in creative work, poetry and prose awaiting comments. The resulting annotations will form part of a story, one that readers will continue in the margins.
