Burning A Book-Student

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Burning a Book
By William Stafford
1986
William Stafford (1914-1993) was an American poet. In 1970, he was named Consultant in
Poetry to the Library of Congress, a position now known as Poet Laureate. In this poem, the
speaker describes book burning, a common method of censorship in which people set fire to
books they object to on political, cultural, or religious grounds. In a 1991 interview, Stafford
once said that he wrote this poem after purposefully burning a book that he found "attractive,
shallow, [and] misleading…" "Why should I keep it around?" he thought. As you read, identify the
main idea of each stanza.
[1] 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.
[5] Truth, brittle1 and faint,2 burns easily,
its fire as hot as the fire lies make—
flame doesn’t care. You can usually find
a few charred3 words in the ashes.
And some books ought to burn, trying for "Untitled" by Freddy Kearney is licensed under
character CC0.
[10] but just faking it. More disturbing
than book ashes are whole libraries that no one
got around to writing—desolate4
towns, miles of unthought in cities,
and the terrorized countryside where wild dogs
[15] 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 books. And there are many
1. Brittle (adjective) delicate and easily broken

2. Faint (adjective) not strong or clear
3. Charred (adjective) blackened or discolored from burning
4. Desolate (adjective) deserted; in a state of dreary emptiness
1
I haven’t even written, and nobody has.
William Stafford, "Burning a Book" from Ask Me: 100 Essential Poems. Copyright © 1986 by William
Stafford. Used with the permission of The Permissions Company, Inc. on behalf of Graywolf Press,
Minneapolis, Minnesota, www.graywolfpress.org.
Unless otherwise noted, this content is licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
2
Text-Dependent Questions
Directions: For the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete
sentences.
1. PART A: Which of the following best summarizes the theme of this poem?
A. Ignorance and a lack of new ideas are greater threats to society than
burning books.
B. Book burning creates ignorance and chaos in societies; free speech should
be encouraged.
C. The worst threat of censorship is its ability to erase prominent writers
from history.
D. We are all guilty of censorship when we reject ideas that do not align with
our own.
2. PART B: Which lines from the poem best support the answer to Part A?
A. "The cover goes first, then outer leaves / curling away, then spine and a
scattering" (Lines 3-4)
B. "More disturbing / than book ashes are whole libraries that no one / got
around to writing" (Lines 10-12)
C. "the terrorized countryside where wild dogs / own anything that moves"
(Lines 14-15)
D. "So I've burned books. And there are many / I haven't even written, and
nobody has." (Lines 18-19)
3. PART A: As used in line 13, what does the word "unthought" mean?
A. hostility toward censorship
B. an inability to read
C. acceptance of book-burning
D. lack of ideas
4. PART B: Which of the following phrases from the text best supports the answer to
Part A?
A. "trying for character / but just faking it" (Lines 9-10)
B. "whole libraries that no one / got around to writing" (Lines 11-12)
C. "terrorized countryside" (Line 14)
D. "where wild dogs / own anything that moves" (Lines 14-15)
3
5. Describe the structure of the poem, and explain how this structure supports the
development of the theme. Cite evidence from the poem in your response.
4
Discussion Questions
Directions: Brainstorm your answers to the following questions in the space provided. Be
prepared to share your original ideas in a class discussion.
1. Why does the poet believe that "whole libraries that no one / got around to writing"
is "More disturbing than book ashes"? Do you agree with him?
2. During the Nazi occupation of Germany, countless books were burned, including
many by Jewish authors. Among those writers whose works were destroyed was
Heinrich Heine, whose famous play, "Almansor," includes the following line: "Where
they burn books, they will also ultimately burn people." In the context of this poem
and the events of history, what are the dangers of censorship? Are these dangers
more or less important than the dangers Stafford writes about?
3. In the context of this poem, what is the goal of education? How does the production
of books aim to advance that goal? Cite evidence from this text, your own
experience, and other literature, art, or history in your answer.
5
4. In the context of this poem, which is more important: freedom or security? Cite
evidence from this text, your own experience, and other literature, art, or history in
your answer.

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[1] Protecting each other, right in the center

So I’ve burned books. And there are many

1. Brittle (adjective) delicate and easily broken

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