All Up in Flames

A brief chronicle of ancient and new book burnings and how it seeped into our Canadian history

Books are weapons in the war of ideas Artist: Broder, S. Sponsor: United States. Office of War Information Date: 1942 (Boston Public Library via Unsplash)

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"So now you see why books are hated and feared? They show the pores of the face of life." 

Stemming from Ray Bradbury’s classic novel Fahrenheit 451, the novel captures the harrowing dystopic American society where books are destroyed due to the knowledge and content within the pages. However, one doesn’t have to look too far to see how eerily the novel has mirrored real-life incidents of burnings fueled by censorship of content matter and fear-mongering of how those books would impact society. 

Through the decades, CanCulture will deconstruct significant events in North America where books were burned (metaphorically and literally) in pursuit of censoring ideas considered too “radical” or “controversial.” 

1933 - Though not directly in the United States or Canada, the Nazi burning of books in May 1933 remains one of the most notorious book burnings in history. During the Third Reich, students in 34 German university towns and cities banded together to burn over 25,000 books written by Jewish and leftist writers and any deemed “un-German.” Following that, people gathered in New York, Chicago and other cities to protest the totalitarian censoring of books. The burning would also be a catalyst for Bradbury’s novel.

1976 - Is there such thing as a book “too feminist and sexual?” That seemed to be the case in 1976 after school districts across Canada took offense to themes in the novels written by two of Canada’s exemplary novelists: The Diviners by Margaret Lawrence and Lives of Girls and Women by Nobel-prize winner Alice Munro. The former would go on to be reviewed by two high schools in Peterborough, Ont.. Lawrence received letters from disgruntled parents on the “vulgarity” of the novel. However, the book ultimately was voted to remain being taught in high schools.

2014 - Out of all the books one would imagine being thrown away, most would not assume books about environmental issues and fishery be on the chopping block. Unfortunately, this didn’t stop former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government from committing what some coined a “libricide.” After seven out of 11 Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) libraries were shut down reportedly to reduce costs and digitize the materials. Some facilities to be closed were located in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Winnipeg, all famous for their world-class research in marine biology. Scientists soon discovered that a hefty portions of these historical books and documents has ended up in landfills and photographs of the aftermath gained widespread attention. Some allegations of the books being burned also spread online and that the administration was masking the rising ecological damage in Canada. The Harper government denied the allegations, specifically noting claims of books being burned were false. Regardless, many viewed the government’s eradication of apolitical scientific writings as an undemocratic silencing of knowledge.

2019 - One of the most recent occurrences of an actual book being burned in the 21st century was right here in Ontario, CanCulture’s province of origin. Conseil scolaire catholique Providence, a francophone school in Ontario, ended up torching 30 books and delisting over 5,o00 from its catalogue as part of the “Giving Back To Mother Earth” program. The goal of the initiative was to remove books that contained “outdated content and carried negative stereotypes about First Nations, Métis and Inuit people.” After books like Tintin in America and outdated encyclopedias were burned, the ashes spread as fertilizer for a new tree. Many have since scrutinized the program and drew comparisons to the aforementioned burnings.

2024 - Still this year, there is a continual desire to censor literature in schools. As reported by CBC, school boards across the country are challenging children’s books that deal with subject matter such as gender, immigration, 2SLGBTQ+ and colonialism. Even classics like The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and Of Mice and Men are getting pulled. However, many passionate individuals are countering these acts of censorship, refusing to allow literature with diverse topics to be taken off the library shelves.