Reading lists
Where to begin
Curated shelves that group the great critics by theme. Every essay is free to read in full on AltWoke.
Where to Start With the Great Critics
Nine essays that show what criticism can do, from Montaigne to Mencken.
9 essays →
Critics of Empire
The writers who turned on their own countries’ conquests.
5 essays →
Satirists Who Drew Blood
Comedy as a weapon: the essays that made readers laugh, then flinch.
5 essays →
Race and America
Du Bois, Wells, and Twain on the country’s founding wound.
5 essays →
Faith, Doubt, and the Churches
Four centuries of criticism aimed at religion and its institutions.
5 essays →
Women and Power
Wollstonecraft and Du Bois on the oldest hierarchy of all.
3 essays →