“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.