In Literature as Exploration, Rosenblatt presents her unique theory of literature and focuses on the immense, often untapped, potential for the study and teaching of literature in a democratic society. The author's philosophy is frequently cited as the first presentation of reader-response theory, but she differs from her successors in emphasizing both the reader and the text.

Her "transactional" theory of literature examines the reciprocal nature of the literary experience and explains why meaning is neither "in" the text nor "in" the reader. Each reading is "a particular event involving a particular reader and a particular text under particular circumstances." And teachers of literature, Rosenblatt argues, play a pivotal role in influencing how students perform in response to a text.

Students, teachers, and scholars reading the book for the first time will be as enlightened and challenged by this classic work as earlier generations have been. The many readers of the previous editions of Literature as Exploration will want to own this special edition, with its larger format, elegant typography, and new supporting materials.