Main Page

Welcome to the Off the Road Database! This database collects American road literature from the early decades of automobility. It is part of the ERC-funded research project "Off the Road: The Environmental Aesthetics of Early Automobility." Our focus is on poems, fiction, and non-fiction narratives from the 1890s through the 1920s, but we are open to all texts that are within the public domain under European copyright law.

Here is how it works.

With the help of the navigation bar on the left-hand side you can find the various ways to use this database:

Home

The main page is the page you are on right now. Here you will find our text search, which is best used to organize the database by genre, year of publication, and other filtering options. By clicking on any search result, you will be directed to the respective text page.

Advanced search

The advanced search allows you to find specific text passages and use the annotated keywords. The advanced search includes an infographic which shows you all the keywords you can search for. You can combine several keywords and even other search parameters. Please note that the advanced search is geared toward finding individual paragraphs and stanzas. If you click on any search result, you will be directed to the exact paragraph or stanza in the text. The advanced search works best if you provide lots of input, so you can find exactly what you are looking for.

Browse wiki

By text: this will direct you to a comprehensive overview of all texts.

By author: and this will direct you to a comprehensive overview of all authors.