Fighting Words is excited to be participating in its first Léargas Erasmus+ project funded by the European Union, Story Seeds: From Ireland to Italy (and back again!), in collaboration with our Milan-based sister organisation La Grande Fabbrica Delle Parole.
The project is using the tool of creative writing to address issues of social equity and access. Students from 24 classes (12 in Milan and 12 in Ireland) will contribute to six unique stories. The stories will pass from the young Irish writers to the young Italian writers and back again – like passing the baton in a relay race.
The project is particularly focusing on place – celebrating the connection between young people and their communities. One story features the Purple Monster of the Naviglio canal in Milan who must face down his nemesis, Paddy the Scientist from Athy. Another features two girls from Milan who set off to discover if the world is really made of cheese, only to crash land in Tallaght.
As the stories pass back and forth, the students learn about each other’s homeplace.
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The stories will be published as a storybook and launched online. We will also create a practice guide for teachers or creative facilitators interested in exploring creative writing in their work. Keep an eye out for our webinar later in the year where we will launch this guide.
Below is an extract from one of the stories with contributions from Class 3A, Scuola Primaria Ferraris, IC Sant’Ambrogio, Milan, and fourth class from Scoil Aoife Community National School, Citywest, Co Dublin.
The Secret of the Aliens and the Moon
Chapter one: The Cheese Moon
One fine day, an older but short girl named Iris and a younger but tall girl named Isabella decide they want to leave their home, which is in Milan, in the Barona-Sant’Ambrogio neighbourhood. They want to find out if the moon is made of cheese: from Earth, with all those holes, it really looks like it’s made of cheese!
As for transportation, they first consider a car, but neither of them has a driver’s license. They think about taking the train, but then realise there are no tracks between Earth and the moon. Finally, they figure out that flying is the best option: they would use a hot-air balloon.
They depart right from the courtyard of their school and quickly rise up with their hot air balloon. From above, they can see the school and the neighbourhood like never before: they see the courtyard where they play every day, as well as the Barrio’s, the oratory, and the church.
They slowly approach the moon with their hot air balloon. They even manage to avoid a meteor shower, but suddenly an alien approaches them in a spaceship. The alien’s job is to protect the secret of the cheese moon, and for this reason, the alien destroys their hot air balloon by shooting it with laser cannons.
Chapter two: The Cheese Apocalypse
It sounded like a tyre being popped as the hot air balloon fell from the sky.
Luckily, the balloon had a backup parachute. Iris and Isabella felt relieved. The hot air balloon crash landed in a field just outside Tallaght.
They saw an odd person hiding in the bushes and went to investigate. They found an alien watching them.
“Hi, who are you?” asked Iris.
“My name Is Goobal.”
“Do you know anywhere we can get some food?” asked Isabella.
Goobal answered, “Perios Grill.”
Randomly, they found a blue and purple Lamborghini in the bushes. Goobal got behind the wheel and they sped into Tallaght passing The Square, Domino’s and Tallaght Leisure Centre.
When they found a seat, they ordered spicy, spicy, spicy chicken wings and had the biggest smiles ever.
To be continued ...
Chapter two has been edited for publication, and the full story can be found in the upcoming Story Seeds collection
