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Does the author's intent matter to what a work means?

Since 2007 John has held that books belong to their readers and that the author's intent does not decide what a work means. From 2017 he softened this, granting that the author is in the book; in 2020 he said intent matters 'not very much', and in 2026 that he cannot keep himself out of his books.

Axis: intent does not matter; meaning belongs to readers ... intent decides meaning

Positions by date: 23 records in 21 videos. The position was refined (2015, 2017, 2020, 2026), never reversed, in these records.

John

date how position video
2007-12-18 first on record John says authors do put in symbolism, but the reading experience would be equally rich with or without authorial intent. Dec 18th: The Project for Awesome and Question Tuesday!!! 00:02:07
2008-10-11 (said on 2008-10-10, implied) restate John says deconstructionism may take something away from the author, but authors don't own books, readers do. Question Friday 00:00:58
2010-09-20 restate John holds that whether the author intended a symbol does not matter: the job of reading is not to understand the author's intent. Life Is Like Pizza 00:03:16
2011-01-21 restate John says writers, editors and agents are all facilitators; the real business of books is done by readers, each of whom reads a different Looking for Alaska. Looking for Alaska Five Years After the Printz Award 00:02:41
2011-05-18 restate John, speaking as an author, holds that whether an author intended a symbol is not the interesting question; Paper Towns' Great White Wall of Cow is there for readers to think about nature's apathy. The Education Continuum WARNER CHILCOTTED 00:02:14
2011-06-15 (said on 2011-06-14, implied) restate John says what authors mean doesn't really matter; critical reading matters as a way into thinking about our actual lives. Question Tuesday! Paula Deen Riding Me (and critical reading) 00:03:06
2013-01-15 restate John says every reading is a collaboration in which reader and writer make the story up together. An Evening of Awesome at Carnegie Hall 01:00:11
2015-09-01 refine John says nearly everyone, himself included, reads the poem as Edward Thomas did, the opposite of what Frost intended; the reading against the author's intent is the one that shapes real choices. The Road Less Traveled By 00:01:30
2016-01-12 restate John says creators find it hard to see their work loved for reasons they didn't intend, but the book someone reads is never quite the book its author wrote: readers change it. Zero Severed Hands: On Star Wars and Making Things 00:02:41
2016-07-19 restate Against the objection that Kanye didn't mean it, John says authorial intent doesn't matter. Pretty Bad Ways to Start a Conversation 00:00:24
2017-08-15 restate John says it's an emotional day: for six years the book has been mostly his, and after today it will belong to the people who read it, which is exciting but hard to describe. Very Hard to Desclibe 00:00:45
2017-12-05 restate John has often said that books belong to their readers: it doesn't matter whether an author intended a symbolic resonance if it is there, because we read the book, not the author. On the Movies 00:00:05
2017-12-05 refine John says one problem with this view is that it is disingenuous to pretend the author isn't in the book, especially in a personality-driven culture and for an author with a public life like an 11-year video blog. On the Movies 00:00:37
2019-03-12 restate John says a writer must let a book go once it is in print: it then belongs to the people who read it, a wonderful and painful surrender. Going Home with Alaska and Miles 00:00:29
2020-09-15 refine In a channel comment John says he is now closer to 'authorial intent doesn't matter very much' than 'not at all', though for Smash Mouth it may not matter at all. All That Glitters Is Gold
2021-05-11 restate John says readers can read the book however they like: he is very over authors prescribing reading experiences; the book belongs to the reader, to use however it is useful. I am a small boat. It's Question Tuesday. 00:03:02
2021-05-18 restate Recalling the strange joy of his books going where he never will, John says from today the book has a life separate from its author, forging connections with whoever reads it. Saying What I've Needed to Say to Hank for a While 00:00:14
2022-11-01 restate The painting reminds John that art brings wonder and pleasure in unexpected ways, and whether the artist intended each road to wonder matters less than whether a viewer can find it. Is This Painting Upside Down? 00:02:26
2024-12-10 restate Having turned in first pass last night, John says the book no longer really belongs to him but to its readers, who will make whatever use they can of it. On Writing 00:00:21
2026-01-13 refine John says one problem with that view is that he cannot keep himself out of his books, since his is the only interiority he has ever experienced. why we make art 00:01:56
2026-06-02 restate John says he doesn't care whether artists know what they are making; it doesn't matter to him, he is only there to find the meaning he can find. The Instagramification of Human Experience 00:03:53
2026-07-07 restate John says books belong to their readers: the author's intention should not be privileged over a reader's interpretation, nor should authors comment outside the text; the author is dead. On the Death of the Author 00:03:26
2026-07-07 refine John says there is a lot of him in his videos and in his fiction; he cannot ask readers to separate the two when he doesn't know how to separate them himself. On the Death of the Author 00:04:52

Background

date how position video
2020-09-15 background John says he doesn't really care what Smash Mouth had in mind; what matters to him is what the lyric makes him feel when people sing it. (playful) All That Glitters Is Gold 00:02:26
2022-05-10 background John says authorial intent doesn't matter, and on reflection his favorite thing about the canvas, by a wide margin, is that it is off-center. (playful) An Attempt at Exhausting an Artwork in Cincinnati 00:02:26

Dates are upload dates, which set the order. Where the speaker gives a different recording date in the video, it is added as "said on YYYY-MM-DD, implied" (derived from the date said in the video).