In this chapter, I consider the relationship between dialect literature and its readers. I suggest that the dialogic structure of many works of dialect literature models for readers a way of making sense of difficult texts. The core part of the chapter applies politeness theory and a conversation analysis framework to selected texts to reveal how dialect literature appeals to readers’ knowledge of universal communicative norms in order to help them navigate the more challenging and unfamiliar aspects of the language. I also consider dialect literature through the prism of intersubjectivity in order to show how works of dialect literature encourage us to approach them as if entering into a conversation: that is, with a readiness to improvise, self-correct and problematise, rather than in the more passive, immersing way associated with some other forms of literature.