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‘Fahrenheit 451’ to be read aloud at UW-River Falls to raise awareness about book bans


NOTE: The reading is postponed until Wednesday, April 13, because of the rainy forecast.

April 1, 2022 -- Starting at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, April 6, Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” will be read aloud at the Outdoor Classroom near Kleinpell Fine Arts (KFA) on the University of Wisconsin-River Falls campus by volunteer students and staff.

The reading will go on until about 5 p.m. Volunteers will change out and continue the reading every 20 minutes.

Fahrenheit 451 cover“This is the most famous banned book,” said Professor Mialisa Moline, chair of the English Department. “I wanted to start with the most identifiable banned book, which is actually a story about banned books.”

“Fahrenheit 451” is a 1953 dystopian novel that presents a future American society where books are outlawed, and “firemen” burn any that are found.

The idea to read a banned book started after the McMinn County School Board in January decided to remove the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel “Maus” because of “inappropriate language.”

Art Spiegelman won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992 for the work that tells the story of his Jewish parents living in 1940s Poland and depicts him interviewing his father about his experiences as a Holocaust survivor.

“This also seemed like a good time with the pandemic winding down,” Moline said. “People are reading more because of the pandemic.”

There will be a limited number of copies of the book available at the reading.

“One of the reasons I wanted to read it out loud is because of one of the main reasons it was banned,” Moline said. “Speaking it aloud shows it is not harmful. Reading banned books aloud

gives more of a social acknowledgment to the book than there is an individual reading it in isolation. We are affirming as a group of scholars, just because a book is offensive, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be read.”

The goal is to teach students to question why books are banned, Moline said, noting books are banned by both the left and the right of the political spectrum.

A display of about a dozen banned books is on second floor in KFA. It was created by student Taylor Kiel, a senior majoring in professional writing and creative writing. Kiel picked the books and created the display as part of an internship with the English Department. The display will remain until October, which is Banned Book month.

“My personal favorite is ‘1984,’” Kiel said. “It was banned and burned in Russia for being against Communism. It was banned in the U.S. for being pro-Communism. It shows how each person reacts differently.”

Kiel also learned that when books are banned, it tends to increase their sales. The books are from the 1950s up to 2020.

Three of the books on display were written by the late UWRF English Professor Nicholas J. Karolides, who taught about book banning.

Kiel will be taking her turn to read aloud from “Fahrenheit 451.”

“I love literature,” Kiel noted. “It is not good to ban books. It’s against our right of free speech.”

The university has not done an aloud reading of a banned book in over 15 years, Moline said.

In case of inclement weather, the book reading will be moved to Wednesday, April 13, and if the weather is again an issue that day to Wednesday, April 20.

For more information, contact Moline at mialisa.moline@uwrf.edu or 715-425-4445.

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