fyi : back issues

Winter 2004 - Doorways to literature

150 years - 150 books - 150 words

Agnes Nieuwenhuizen

Your leaflet just arrived through my letter slot in Leeds and I wanted to write straight away and congratulate you. I was delighted to find my name on the list, of course, . . . but I also thought the whole project was a brilliant idea. . . . I don’t think I’ve ever seen a list of specifically Victorian writers for young people before and I kept feeling surprised by names I hadn’t identified as Victorian, nostalgic when I came across titles I’d halfforgotten and generally impressed by the whole achievement. It’s an excellent way to involve teachers and students and give them a sense of tradition: I hope it gets the enthusiastic response it deserves. (Jenny Pausacker, recently relocated to Leeds, UK)

150 Years

Eighteen fifty four was a big year for Victoria. It saw the establishment of The Age, the Museum, the MCG, the University of Melbourne, the Victorian Railway service, Castlemaine’s newspaper (still going strong) and, of course, the State Library of Victoria. As a major cultural institution that is nearing the conclusion of a huge and amazing redevelopment over the past few years, the Library was particularly keen to celebrate its history and collections. There is plenty to highlight in the building including the spectacular restoration of the Domed Reading Room, the opening of the sumptuous Redmond Barry Reading Room and Cowen Gallery showcasing one hundred and fifty works from the State Library’s picture and sculpture collection. The publication of the splendid coffee table book, Treasures of the State Library, enshrines the riches of the collection in another form.

Every book that is published in Victoria has to be lodged in the Library. Many others – at present 1.8 million items – are housed here. Some people still don’t realise that this is purely a reference and research library. Others don’t know about the extensive, fabulous and unique Children’s Literature Collection. The redevelopment the Library included the establishment of a Public Programs Division in 1997. As part of this process the then Youth Literature Program transferred its operations to the Library and was reconstituted as the Australian Centre for Youth Literature (ACYL). The Centre presents innovative activities to promote reading to young people and brings large numbers of 10 -18 year olds and the professionals who work with them to the Library. Together with Education Services, we constitute the Library’s focus on, and services to, young people.

Save this book

The ACYL was invited to devise and present its own celebratory program for the Library’s 150th anniversary and was allocated additional funds for this. Eventually we came up with the 150 Years - 150 Books - 150 Words project. Recently we have been developing an increasingly strong partnership with The Age. Given it was also The Age’s 150th birthday this year, this seemed like another fine partnership opportunity. We wanted young people to respond personally and directly to books and not have to do anything that smacked of a school exercise. The Save This Book campaign asks entrants to imagine that a tidal wave might be about to sweep away piles of books and encourages them to write 150 words making a passionate plea to save one book from the list of 150. Professionals were invited to produce some innovative materials to present five to ten books from the list to students.

150 Books

We set about drawing up an eclectic, accessible and inclusive list of Victorian authors and titles which might appeal to today’s 10-18 year-olds. This required considerable research. The focus was on recent titles but we also wanted classics. And because the competition extends to 18 year-olds, several titles published for adults were included. Of course The Magic Pudding is there, as is A Little Bush Maid. The earliest book is Marcus Clarke’s For the Term of His Natural Life (1886). Nonfiction titles include John Nicholson’s The Mighty Murray, Germaine Greer’s The Female Eunuch and Barry Jones’s Sleepers Wake as well as a current bestseller, Li Cunxin’s Mao’s Last Dancer. Elizabeth Honey, Alison Lester, Andy Griffiths, Odo Hirsch, Gabrielle Wang and Kirsty Murray are amongst the authors for younger readers and for teenagers, crime writers Kerry Greenwood, Peter Temple and Shane Maloney sit comfortably next to Young Adult writers John Marsden, Maureen McCarthy and Martine Murray. The list includes something for every kind of reader. No one has more than two books on the list but despite this it was a juggling process to make sure no one of significance was left out while keeping to the 150.

Prizes and events

There will be six youth winners and three adult winners from the competition. Early on we decided against monetary prizes. We would present free events to launch the project and to announce the winners. Two free, family-based Bookgigs performances featuring popular authors Terry Denton and Andy Griffiths were scheduled. Funds stretch to bringing country (youth and adult) winners to Melbourne and accommodating them. Youth winners will attend the Awards event on 1 September at Storey Hall RMIT, be given lunch, attend workshops and behind-the-scenes tours either at the Library or The Age and get a signed copy of a book by one of the (living) writers. The three adults can win a writer-in-residence for a week for their schools.
Jacinta Allan, Minister for Youth Affairs and Education Services, in launching the project, spoke with great enthusiasm about what reading meant to her. This topic was also addressed by authors Isobelle Carmody, Morris Gleitzman and Meme McDonald, Hawthorn footballer Sam Mitchell (the AFL’s 2003 Rising Star) and Bendigo Senior Secondary College VCE student Alistair Robinson. Some brilliant footjuggling by the Amazing Hazel helped to heighten the festive atmosphere. To provide ideas for the Save This Book competition, actors Jenny Lovell and Liam Amor put A. A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh on trial. Pooh did a sterling job of defending his book against over-blown claims that it was environmentally unsound and encouraged addictive (to honey) behaviour. The audience was clearly and loudly on Pooh’s side. At the Awards event on 1 September we will again present a fast moving, entertaining program to enthuse the audience about books and reading. Authors speaking will be Andy Griffiths, Robyn Annear, David Metzenthen and Arnold Zable.

At the time of writing in mid June the first competition entries are flowing in. The list of books can be found at <www.statelibrary.vic.gov.au/acyl/> and <www.education.theage.com.au>. The Age has produced attractive fliers with the list and competition details and has advertised the project. We are using all possible avenues to ensure the list is distributed well beyond our normal networks. If resources and time allow we plan to have all 150 books on display in a huge glass case in the Cowen Gallery later in the year. As we expected, people love lists if only to disagree with them. We wanted to generate discussion and excitement and to draw attention to our Victorian literary treasures. The response above, from Jenny Pausacker, has been echoed by many writers. At present the ACYL is keen to develop Reader Development initiatives in Australia. Such initiatives are flourishing internationally but are only beginning to be introduced here. As well as celebrating Victorian books, the 150 Project aims to develop the knowledge and enthusiasm of readers.

Agnes Nieuwenhuizen is the Manager of the Australian Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria