Burning  a  Book”   By  William  Stafford  
Protecting  each  other,  right  in  the  center  a  few  pages  glow  a  long  time.   The  cover  goes  first,  then  outer  leaves  curling  away,  then  spine  and     a  scattering.  Truth,  brittle  and  faint,  burns  easily,   its  fire  as  hot  as  the  fire  lies  make  -‐  flame  doesn't  care.  You  can     usually  find  a  few  charred  words  in  the  ashes.  
And  some  books  ought  to  burn,  trying  for  character   but  just  faking  it.  More  disturbing   than  book  ashes  are  whole  libraries  that  no  one   got  around  to  writing  -‐  desolate   towns,  miles  of  unthought  in  cities,   and  the  terrorized  countryside  where   wild  dogs   own  anything  that  moves.  If  a  book   isn't  written,  no  one  needs  to  burn  it  -‐  ignorance  can  dance  in  the  absence  of  fire.  
So  I've  burned  book.  And  there  are  many  I  haven't  even  written,  and  nobody  has.  
1. What  images  from  the  poem  linger  in  your  mind?
2. Do  you  agree  that  some  books  ought  to  burn?  Why  or  why  not?
3. Why  might  the  speaker  be  more  upset  about  the  books  “no  one  got around  to  writing”  than  by  the  books  that  have  been  burned?
4. When  is  it  not  necessary  to  burn  books,  according  to  the  poem?
5. What  are  the  dangers  of  ignorance?  (lacking  knowledge  or  information) How  does  this  relate  to  Fahrenheit  451?
Construct a full, well-written paragraph with support from the poem for your responses to these questions.