This innovative teaching strategy sought to evaluate authentic literature as the primary textbook in a nursing theory course. Arts-based pedagogy can potentiate students' development of critical thinking skills, which are necessary for sound clinical judgment. At the end of the course, students responded to an online survey to better understand their experience of using authentic literature in nursing. Students reported a high level of agreement on the interconnectedness of themes in the authentic literature with the course purpose and content. Authentic literature provided a contextual perspective for analysis, debate, and formation of clinical nursing judgment.