From Raymond Pettibon to ‘Ray Gun’: Nina Ljeti’s syllabus for punks-in-training
“Whenever I’m feeling stuck creatively I always ask myself ‘what would the Beastie Boys do?’”
Tao Lin’s required reading for going off-grid
Long before the global pandemic necessitated lifestyle changes for millions of Americans, Tao Lin was already seeking solace in the natural world. “The mind is...
Lessons in love from Rachel Rabbit White, the ‘Hooker Laureate of the dirtbag left’
The modern Sappho tells Document about the books that shaped her thinking on desire and romance
Nazi hunting in the age of pop culture Hitler clones
In 'The Boys From Brazil,' Ira Levin probed our absurdist obsession with Nazi replicants—unfortunately today's fascists don't conform to pulp tropes
‘Alternate history’ fiction reveals our dystopian American reality
For Philip K. Dick, Philip Roth, and Colson Whitehead, 'evil' hasn't been defeated—it's an active force in our politics
Document contributors on the books that changed their lives
Kim Jones, Simone Rocha, Jeremy Pope, and more Document No. 16 contributors share required reading for future generations
Dispatches from Eileen Myles, the greatest president we never had
The poet on writing to balance their reality, the toxicity of American 'freedom,' and finally getting into Borges
Under lockdown, John Cameron Mitchell read apocalyptic sci-fi and rewatched Riverdale’s ‘Hedwig’ episode
The actor and playwright's quarantine media diet is as dramatic as you'd expect
Sarah Waters spends lockdown with poetry, war journals, and a feminist retelling of Achilles
The author of Fingersmith on why she might finally read the Iliad
Durga Chew-Bose’s lockdown routine includes listening to Brian Eno and buying postcards online
The author of 'Too Much and Not the Mood' shares eight ways she's been passing the time under quarantine—when she’s not staring inside of her...
Jess Cole’s poetry wrests emotional intensity from everyday things
The writer and model shares three new poems from her upcoming collection "Post Love in the Time of Consumption."
Michael Cunningham gets through lockdown with a little help from un-stupid, half-hour comedies
Document asked six of our favorite writers how living in isolation changed their consumption of art and media. The second installment features the author of...
Olivia Laing hopes lockdown is turning us into anxious, hopeful teenagers again
Document asked six of our favorite writers how living in isolation changed their consumption of art and media. In the second installment, Olivia Laing finds...
Marlon James on ‘Covidium’ and finally watching TV shows to the end
Document asked six of our favorite writers how living in isolation changed their consumption of art and media. The first installment features the author of...
Brian Roettinger picks 5 essential art books you need to own
The graphic designer and artist gives 5 endless sources of visual inspiration, from Dana Lixenberg's 'Tupac Biggie' to the CalArts poster archive
Go on a virtual vacation with Hanif Abdurraqib’s globetrotting playlist
The writer soundtracks our post-pandemic daydreams
Hanif Abdurraqib is on the frontlines of poetry’s democratization
The writer talks to Document about cassette nostalgia, the year 1980, and the heritage of Black American storytelling
Isabelle Huppert and Robert Wilson on the magic of getting lost in the moment
Document shares an exclusive excerpt from 'Taking Time,' an upcoming book of salon-style conversations hosted by the late Azzedine Alaïa
Shannon Cartier Lucy’s 7-book guide to turning pain into positive growth
The painter shares the challenging, hopeful books that helped her through personal crisis.
Dana Donnelly’s official guide to ‘psychotic fairytales’
The comedian and resident Twitter hot-girl @danadonly on five YA books that warped her perception of romance.
Natasha Stagg’s 4 favorite works of (sad girl) fiction and cultural criticism
From Eve Babitz to Elizabeth Hardwick, the ‘Sleeveless’ author gives a crash course in navigating your social existence.
‘In The Dream House’ is a vital and rare account of an abusive queer relationship
Why Carmen Maria Machado's memoir triggered a necessary reckoning with my own past.
Why the Moon should operate on a ‘Hotel California’ principle
‘You can check out but you can't leave.’ Critic and sociologist Steve Fuller makes the case in this installment of Document's imagining of lunar life...
10 extraordinary creators imagine life on the Moon in Document’s ‘Lunar Portfolio’
Lexus, Nike, OMA, DJ Honey Dijon, and more share their visions for what our future among the stars might hold in this portfolio for Document's...
‘Queen & Slim’ star Daniel Kaluuya and author Marlon James are the legendary heroes of the new mythologies they’re creating
The Oscar Nominee and Booker Prizewinner on challenging the white gaze, resisting the need to self-justify, and ‘appreciating black art on black terms’ in conversation...
Larry Legaspi’s legacy: Rick Owens recalls 5 looks that changed his life
The designer's new book is a racy, leather-clad ode to fashion's unsung iconoclast
Assata Shakur to Ta-Nehisi Coates: Talib Kweli’s 5-step literary guide to overcoming adversity
The legendary rapper, who, along with Yasiin Bey, saved a pioneering African-American bookstore in the 90s, curates a booklist for self-reflection and revolution.
Daniel C. Blight leverages imagery to help us unravel the systemic roots of white supremacy
'The Image of Whiteness', a multimedia collection of imagery and interviews released yesterday, examines whiteness and highlights artists who have risen to challenge it.
5 books to help you see like an artist, by Samuel Ross of A-Cold-Wall*
A literary guide for the visually curious, from semiotics to color theory (don't be intimidated).
Sita Abellán’s books for contemplating dark magic, from Borges to Alexander McQueen
The techno DJ and designer conjures up 4 books that will have you casting spells and considering the infinite.
Lore Segal wrote the Great American Novel you never read (and should)
The author of 'Her First American' reflects on her incredible lifetime as a contrarian
Sex magic, aliens, and the Rapture: Ron Athey’s books for end times
The avant-garde artist known for his bloody, subversive performances schools us on Genesis P-Orridge, Mother Theresa, and ‘the solar anus.’
Tremaine Emory of No Vacancy Inn on the 5 books that ignited his love of art
The creative powerhouse discusses James Baldwin, Frank Miller's ‘Batman,’ and why the most inspiring books are those you haven't read yet.
‘The Memory Police’: Yoko Ogawa’s 1994 dystopian fiction gets a timely second life
The surrealist Japanese novel that predicted our current cultural amnesia is now available in English.
Capitalism is the internet troll you can’t block—and other lesson’s from Jia Tolentino’s ‘Trick Mirror’
The writer's debut book diagnoses a spectrum of incurable issues millennials face today
Toni Morrison remembered—in the words of Marlon James, Yara Shahidi, and Janet Mock
The giant of American literature has passed away at the age of 88—Here, five cultural figures describe the Morrison novels they'll never forget.
5 playful, surrealist books Sharna Osborne reaches to for inspiration
The photographer and videographer on the authors that inform her nostalgic VHS aesthetic, from the philosophical to the downright childish.
5 books beloved by the 2020 candidates—none of which are ‘Ulysses’
You can't judge a book by its cover, but you can judge the Democratic debates by the books the presidential hopefuls can't stop talking about.
‘Three Women’ is a gonzo odyssey into the underbelly of desire
Author Lisa Taddeo sets the record straight on sex positivity, #MeToo, and why she's not Carrie Bradshaw.
5 fantastical texts (and a Finnish cartoon) for escaping the heat
Designer Vasilis Loizides' summer reading list will transport you to new realms and change your perception.
Jess Cole’s 7 short books for each day of the week
“I'm seduced by writing that makes me feel something—and intensely so. I love the thrust of shorter literature it pulls, rolls, and leaves before you...
Ira Silverberg’s guide to poets as prose-writers, from Sylvia Plath to Ocean Vuong
The New York literary heavyweight gives his reading list of genre-defying poets.
Toni Morrison, in her own voice
Timothy Greenfield-Sanders's documentary, 'Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am,' reveals the author's strength and sharp wit, surprising no one.
John Edmonds’ 5 books for the serious daydreamer
The photographer assembles books to spark a 'Walter Mitty'-esque escape.
5 books that shaped Simone Rocha’s version of womanhood
The designer tells Document about the books that informed her romantic Edwardian aesthetic and made her laugh during pregnancy.
Celebrating Walt Whitman’s vulnerable, inclusive patriotism on his 200th birthday
“The genius of the United States is not best or most in its executives or legislatures, nor in its ambassadors or authors or colleges, or...
Edmund White’s 7 books to take to Provincetown
The author of 'A Boy's Own Story' gives his primer on LGBTQ+ literature.
Shelby Lorman’s 5 science fiction books for navigating our existing mess
The author and illustrator of 'Awards for Good Boys,' released today, selects otherworldly sci-fi books for discovering universal truths.
Lord Birthday’s 7 ‘religious’ texts for the post-religious age
The author and illustrator tells Document about the books that redeem and recharge him, from gripping personal memoirs about loss of faith to E. B....
