Shout Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, 20 Years of Speak and our BookBrowse Review of Shout.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Why is the book divided into three parts? Why is the poem "Speak, Draft One, Page One" in Part One instead of Part Two?
2. Reread "librarian on the cusp of courage" and discuss her interaction with Anderson. Is the librarian courageous at all? What does courage look like for survivors of sexual violence? What does courage look like for teachers? For school communities? For authors and other artists?
3. Anderson repeatedly calls attention to the etymology and de nition of words, and several poems explicitly compare words. Reread "two opposites of rape," "the word," and "shame turned inside out." How do these underscore her argument about the power of language?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Penguin Books. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.