Wolfgang Iser - “The Reading Process: A Phenomenological Approach” 

Wolfgang Iser was one of the first scholars to argue that meaning is generated in the encounter between reader and text. As a phenomenologist, he stated that the reading (and meaning-making) process is unique to each individual and for each (subsequent) reading. In this work, he argues how, when a text consists of an artistic pole – as created by the writer – and an aesthetic pole – as interpreted by the reader – a literary work exists at the intersection of the two. The gaps or Leerstelle in a literary work, then, invite readers to fill in what is unexpressed and to generate meaning for themselves. 

​

Note: Iser, Wolfgang. “The Reading Process: A Phenomenological Approach.” New Literary History, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 279-299.