Bibliotherapy with State Library Victoria

A reading of Ned Kelly's Jerilderie Letter by Kevin Molloy, Principal Collection Curator (Victorian and Australian Collection) State Library Victoria.

The Jerilderie Letter is a handwritten document dictated by Ned Kelly to fellow Kelly gang member Joe Byrne. It was written over a period of a few months, and Kelly’s intention was for the letter to be published in the press.

The 56-page letter chronicles the lives of Ned Kelly and his fellow companions, including a description of the fatal shooting of three police officers at Stringybark Creek, Victoria, in 1878. Kelly argued that there were important personal and political reasons behind the men's actions.

In the letter, Kelly claimed he shot the police in self-defence. He also cites cases of alleged police corruption, expresses pro-Irish and anti-English sentiments, and demands justice for his family and other poor Irish settlers. He describes how he and his family were the victims of racial and class-based persecution at the hands of the police and the ‘squattocracy’ who controlled the most fertile farming land and parts of the government.

The letter is accompanied by an undated note stating, ‘This is the document given to me by Ned Kelly when the Bank at Jerilderie was stuck up in Feby. 1879’.

View the letter in State Library Victoria's catalogue here:

http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/211066

Following on from the last episode on believing in ourselves, we explore unlearning the tendency to base our lives on others' expectations and regain our true sense of self. In the last episode of the series, bibliotherapist Dr Susan McLaine asks us what we need to make our hearts swell with joy.

This episode features two readings:

Blaise van Hecke, Enid Blyton has a lot to answer for, The road to Tralfamadore is bathed in river water: stories from a gypsy childhood, Busybird Publishing, 2018

Charlotte Mew, 'The call', The rambling sailor, 1929

In this episode, we explore what happens to us when we let others’ expectations of us define success and failure. It encourages us to think about both the physical and emotional aspects of living our lives based on other people’s expectations.

This episode features a reading of:

Sheryl Gwyther, Dance of the Lascaux ponies, Touchdown Magazine, Vol 104, No. 6, July 2019

One of our most vital human needs is to feel accepted. This episode reflects on how some of us may change who we are to fit in and feel accepted.

This episode features two readings:

Elizabeth Flux, One’s company, The best Australian stories 2017, Black Inc., 2017

Jenny Joseph, ‘Warning’, Warning: when I am an old woman I shall wear purple, Profile Books, 1997.

This episode explores ethics and values, the foundations on which we base our lives. It asks us to consider the set of rules we use for adult living.

This episode features two readings:

Cate Kennedy, Puppet show, The best Australian stories 2015, Black Inc., 2015

Rudyard Kipling, ‘If’, Rewards and fairies, 1910.

A common coping strategy for many people is to incorporate a routine to try to control our experiences. This episode helps us to reflect on our own coping strategies.

Content warning: this episode features a story which explores suicide, death, loss and grief.

This episode features two readings:

Mat Ward, Routine, [Untitled] issue: eight, Busybird Publishing, 2019

Robert Frost ‘The road not taken’, Mountain interval, published by Henry Holt, 1916.

Medical experts are saying that agoraphobia – commonly known as the fear of leaving home – is impacting many people as a result of the pandemic. This episode asks how we feel about leaving home and being in situations we can’t control.

Content warning: this episode features a story and a poem which explore mental illness, including anxiety and depression.

This episode features two readings:

Rhiannon Raphael, Why I didn’t leave the house this week, [Untitled] issue: eight, Busybird Publishing, 2019

Anonymous, ‘Poem from someone who suffers from Agoraphobia’, published on the Anxiety Disorders Association of Victoria’s website.

The global health crisis may define the next generation. Bibliotherapist Susan McLaine asks in this final episode, recapping the series, ‘what do we want historians in a hundred years to be saying about our generation?’

This episode features one reading:

‘The lost generation’ by Jonathan Reed, created for the AARP U@50 video contest, published online on YouTube at https://youtu.be/42E2fAWM6rA

Coronavirus has no boundaries or sense of social justice. We are all in this together, and we come into the situation with different challenges, strengths, skills and wisdom. Bibliotherapist Susan McLaine explores how we can unite to help each other with these challenges.

This episode features two readings:

‘The honour of mateship’ by Peter Jeppesen (unpublished)

‘No man is an island’ by John Donne, published in Meditation 17 in Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, 1624

In this special children's episode of Bibliotherapy with State Library Victoria, host Susan McLaine shares a story and a poem with families to promote imaginative conversations about resilience and viewpoints on the world as it is right now.

This episode features readings of the following story and poem:

Little Big Tree, written by Tim Brown and illustrated by Andy Geppert, published by Kidiki Publishing, 2010

Scarecrow, written by Janeen Brian, published in The School Magazine NSW