Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean

Introductory activities

Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean was a collaborative project that brought together 20 artists and writers to imagine what the world could be for women and girls. Developed during a particularly fraught period of violence against women in both Australia and India, the editors asked contributors to create and explore worlds in which girls had agency and communities that helped them stare down their oppressors, and in which boys may have preferred to waltz than engage in dangerous and exploitative work.

There are 17 pieces in the collection (10 short stories, six graphic stories, and one playscript), all of which reimagine what is possible for both girls and boys in a range of settings, styles, and genres.

There is hope, empowerment, and strength in each piece, but also reminders that there is work to be done to create a world built on acceptance as well as community.

The titles

In their Introduction, editors Kirsty Murray, Payal Dhar, and Anita Roy discuss the inspiration for the title of the anthology (pp. vii–viii). Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean is a reference to ‘The Preacher and the Slave’ (1911), a song written by union organiser Joe Hill. It is an anti-capitalist parody of the Christian hymn ‘In the Sweet By-and-By’, calling out hypocrisy and urging workers to unite against their exploitation. Hill coined the phrase ‘pie in the sky’ to refer to heavenly rewards for suffering on Earth. This idiom has come to stand for the impossible or fanciful: something that is nice to think about but unlikely to eventuate. The contributors have taken this idea as the starting point for their writing, reimagining and redefining the boundaries of reality (Murray elaborates on the title in her 2017 Transmedia Mutt interview).

Students can:

• Read the lyrics to ‘In the Sweet By-and-By’ and explain the premise and message of the song.
• Discuss how ‘The Preacher and the Slave’ is a powerful inspiration for writing that reimagines the world for women.

Before reading Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean, students can explore the Contents and consider how each story title relates to the experiences of women. Which titles suggest:

• Traditional women’s roles?
• Women under threat?
• A fairy tale?
• Something else?

Have students explain their analysis and thinking about the various titles.

Context

The anthology contains a great deal of contextual information to help readers understand its historical significance, the editors’ brief, and the collaborative process between contributors (see the Introduction, pp. vii–ix, and the Notes on the Collaborations, pp. 205–220).

Murray, Dhar, and Roy believe in the power of storytelling to conquer darkness; it is worth considering what it is about stories that can make a tangible difference to the way we live and interact with each other and the world around us.

The anthology is premised on recognising and pushing back against the limitations and expectations imposed on young women. This knowledge offers readers a chance to grapple with ideas about what the world is, what it could be, and what values are most important. The contributors shed light on contemporary society through historical fiction, appropriation, transformation, dystopia, and the representation of worlds not dissimilar to our own. In these varied narrative pathways is a call to remember people lost and hold vigil for lives taken too soon. The anthology also questions gender roles; several writers imagine worlds in which men, not women, contend with the danger inherent in the everyday, while women work to break down barriers, restore equality, and advocate for an expression of gender that is not defined by toxic or binary attitudes.

Among other topics, the pieces explore catastrophic climate disasters, the role of the media, and the stories people tell to keep others imprisoned. These ideas are prescient, and will likely have enduring relevance and significance into the future.

The following activities will assist students to safely explore the anthology’s context. This will involve discussion of sensitive topics like gendered violence, so be mindful of your and your students’ needs. Amend or omit any activities as required, and be ready to consult/provide additional resources and support for any students with a close association with these experiences.

1. Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean was published in 2015, but the collaborative and creative processes began several years earlier. Use the Introduction as a jumping off point to explore what was happening in the world from 2012 onwards, and the struggles women were facing in their day-to-day lives. How have things changed? How have things stayed the same?
2. Consider the ways in which the anthology’s premise remains pertinent to contemporary audiences. If appropriate, students could reflect on the #MeToo movement and how this highlighted the real and shocking consequences of sexual and gendered violence.
3. Consider how gendered violence is represented in the media. You might like to explore the key findings from research conducted by Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS); this provides a good overview of how violence against women was reported in the mid-2010s (the quantitative and qualitive summaries are also useful, as is the detailed content analysis). What does the ANROWS report say about language use? Do students think the media reports differently on gendered violence today?
4. Think about the issues affecting young people today. Note THREE inequities that are impacting children and/or young adults in different parts of the world. You might allow some time for students to research these issues and identify key statistics.
5. Explore the main principles of feminism and what this movement has set out to do. As students read Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean, encourage them to consider how each contributor has approached their story with equality in mind.
6. Reflect on how gendered violence in Australia and India united the editors and contributors to push back against the attitudes/conditions that gave rise to such crimes. Have students read the Introduction and reflect on the editors’ brief to contributors, then respond to the following questions:
   1. How do you feel about the brief? Do you think anything could have been added to it? If so, what?
   2. Should the editors have stipulated the genre, setting, characters, etc. that they wanted to see? How might this have affected (restricted/expanded) the possibilities of each story?

These activities will deepen students’ understanding of what spurred the editors and contributors to action.

Outline of key elements of the text

The table below lists all the stories from Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean. It includes a brief summary of each piece, as well as a note on whether the composer has reflected on their work OR the collaborative process (see the Notes on the Collaborations, pp. 202–220 – these do NOT appear in the same order as the stories).

Students could work in groups to complete their own tables. Assign a few stories to each group and allow time for them to read and make notes, then come together to share the findings. Students can fill in the blanks on their tables based on this discussion. Alternatively, you could set up a shared document and invite each group to fill in their assigned rows, then discuss the information as a class.

Synthesising task

Consider the role of the anthology’s editors and contributors:

Now ask students to think about the issues that impact them and the people/things they care about. Brainstorm some of these issues (collaboratively or individually) and have students choose THREE to explore in more depth. They should begin by considering how the issues affect them personally, then expand their thinking to friends, family, peers, the local environment, and finally the world. Students should make notes about what has happened, what is happening, and what may happen in the future without action.

Finish by inviting students to respond to the following prompts:

1. In what ways might stories help you to understand and share your concerns?
2. Imagine that you are editing an anthology of writing on ONE issue. Write an invitation to an author of your choice explaining the purpose of the collection and how you would like the author to contribute.

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The writer’s craft

There is ample room to explore the craft of the visual and written texts in Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean. Below is a set of general questions that could apply to any of the stories, followed by more specific questions that will allow students to dive deeper into the individual pieces.

Choose several stories to examine in more detail in terms of their written or visual language features, setting, character, and themes. It would be worthwhile to explore examples of each type of text (i.e. short story, playscript, and graphic stories).

Exploring construction

Individual close studies

‘Swallow the Moon’ by Kate Constable, illus. Priya Kuriyan

‘Swallow the Moon’ is a visual text depicting a secret coming of age ritual. The older women guide the younger ones on a trek through the forest and into the sea, shedding their childhood selves and becoming women. There is much striking imagery within the text, which at first depicts a group of women, then focuses on one (Berrda).

1. Explore the depiction of the coming of age ritual. How do the different elements symbolise the transition from childhood to adulthood?
2. In the ritual, the young women carry precious objects that they return to the sea. Explain the great irony of the objects from ‘Before’.
3. What is the impact of framing within the text? Choose ONE frame and describe what is seen within it, as well as the message portrayed by the composers.
4. Consider why Berrda is the only character named in the story. What do we learn from her deviation from the set path?
5. Constable and Kuriyan’s collaborative process began with a short story draft (p. 205). As Kuriyan developed more illustrations, Constable cut out more words (p. 206). Consider the interplay between images and words: what is impactful about the text in terms of its layout?
6. A full colour version of one of Kuriyan’s panels was used for the anthology’s cover (p. 4). How does this image represent the text in its entirety?

‘Little Red Suit’ by Justine Larbalestier

‘Little Red Suit’ is a transformation of the well-known fairy tale ‘Little Red Riding Hood’. The protagonist, Poppy, is a fierce young woman who looks up to her Grandma Lily (an engineer). One day she decides to leave the safety of the city and make a risky journey to visit her grandmother. Poppy faces danger not only from the foreboding ‘wolf’ stalking her, but also from the inhospitable environment.

1. Read ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ and compare the symbolism of the red cape with the red suit in ‘Little Red Suit’. What is the significance of the colour in each story?
2. In what way has the wolf been adapted in ‘Little Red Suit’?
3. While short, this text builds a great deal of tension. How has Larbalestier used language to do this effectively?
4. Poppy realises that her suit has been hacked. How does this situation reflect the real-life dangers that young women face in their everyday lives? How does the story respond?
5. Many fairy and folk tales are didactic, with a very deliberate and thinly veiled moral message that serves to teach and entertain. Choose ONE fairy or folk tale that you could adapt for a post-apocalyptic setting and briefly explain your reasoning.

‘Cooking Time’ by Anita Roy

In ‘Cooking Time’, humans are sustained by artificial food produced by a single manufacturer: AgroGlobal. This appears to be a portmanteau of the words ‘agriculture’ and ‘global’, but also a pun that suggests aggression on the part of the conglomerate (which controls governments, the supply of goods and services, and anything else that exists in a temporal or spatial plane).

1. What do you find most startling about the premise of MasterChef of All Time?
2. Think about the title of this piece. Consider the myriad ways that ‘Cooking Time’ reflects the content of the story.
3. MasterChef of All Time is a competitive cooking show with a time travelling twist. Research a historical time and place and identify a dish that Mandy (Mandira) could cook on the show. Write a short piece that captures her experiences in this historical setting to complete the challenge and cook the chosen dish.
4. How has Roy conveyed the differences between Mandy and Stella’s world and our own, even with some similarities (e.g. the mass appeal of reality television)?
5. How has Roy used flashbacks in her story to build character?

‘Anarkali’ by Annie Zaidi, illus. Mandy Ord

‘Anarkali’ is a striking visual text inspired by the classic Hindi film Mughal-e-Azam (1960), which in turn is based on the legendary 16th century figure Anarkali. In the film, Anarkali (a fictional character) is a court dancer who begins a romance with the Mughal Prince Salim (a historical figure). Their relationship upsets the existing social hierarchy, and Salim’s father – Emperor Akbar – condemns Anarkali to be entombed alive.

1. Research Mughal-e-Azam’s enduring quality and popularity to gain insight into the power of this retelling.
2. Think about how Zaidi and Ord shift the balance of power to focus on Anarkali’s strength of character as she frees herself and Prince Salim.
3. Explain the symbolism of Anarkali’s method of escape.
4. Explain your thoughts on Prince Salim. Is he in too much danger to save Anarkali, or is the promise of glory and external validation too tempting? Is the story a comment on ego?
5. Consider Zaidi and Ord’s discussions about historical accuracy (p. 210). What role do you think this plays in historical fiction? What issues may arise from fictionalising aspects of an historical figure’s life? Are there limits on the types of stories we should tell after someone has passed away? Form teams and put together some arguments for or against this question (or a similar one) for an informal debate-style discussion.
6. Choose a historical figure that you could place in a short story alongside a fictional character and briefly explain your reasoning.

‘Cast Out’ by Samhita Arni

In the world of ‘Cast Out’, only boys and men are allowed to practise magic. The punishments that await female magicians are severe. The protagonist, Karthini, instinctively uses her magic to save her cousin from falling to his death. Instead of being grateful, her family turns its back on her, and she is flogged and cast out to sea.

1. This short story covers a large expanse of time. How has Arni achieved this?
2. Create a timeline of key events in ‘Cast Out’.
3. There are two places described in the story: the oppressive Northern village where Karthini grows up, and the thriving community of women on Floating Island. Compare the words Arni has used to describe each place.
4. Arni wrote her story in response to a personal memory, but also a larger societal issue (pp. 210–211). Explain this issue and think carefully about what Arni wanted the reader to understand from reading her story.
5. The front cover of the US edition of Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean is inspired by ‘Cast Out’. How does this image represent the text in its entirety? Which cover do you prefer? Explain your reasoning.

‘Weft’ by Alyssa Brugman

‘Weft’ explores the lengths one might go to maintain the appearance of youth and physical attractiveness. In this story, one woman ‘donates’ her hair for expensive extensions, and another sells her kidney so that she can afford them. The protagonist repeatedly emphasises the importance of physical attributes and reflects on the nature and true cost of beauty.

1. How has Brugman created humour in a very dark portrayal about the lengths to which one might go to cultivate their appearance?
2. Brugman mentions that she was interested in consumerism and marketable images of womanhood (p. 211). In what ways do modern beauty standards impact people today? Is Brugman’s story really set in a distant future?
3. As she waits for her weave, the protagonist imagines the life of her hair donor. She wonders about this woman’s exploitation while assuring herself of her own agency. Do you think she has indeed escaped exploitation? Explain your thoughts.
4. Consider the protagonist’s reflections on what it means to give up hair versus a kidney. We get a sense that the hair donor leads a difficult life, but the protagonist purports to have made the greater sacrifice. How does this characterisation affect the reader? What do we end up thinking about the protagonist?

‘The Wednesday Room’ by Kuzhali Manickavel, illus. Lily Mae Martin

Kavya is the last in a line of women who once communicated freely with supernatural beings, but now simply contain them from ‘standardised’ society. ‘The Wednesday Room’ explores Kavya’s experience of writing her application for ‘state-sponsored standardisation’. As she does so, she reflects on the loss of both her family history and her friends.

1. State-Sponsored Complete and Irreversible Standardisation appears to be a very serious request. Why is Kavya seeking this?
2. What creatures will disappear in the standardisation process?
3. How do you know that Kavya is finding the application process difficult?
4. In what ways are Manickavel and Martin commenting on ‘standardisation’ in our society? List some things that are standardised OR that lead to standardisation (e.g. social media algorithms, uniforms, tests, social norms). What is the impact on an individual level AND in the broader community?

‘Cat Calls’ by Margo Lanagan

‘Cat Calls’ draws attention to street harassment and misogyny in Australia and India. The protagonist, Melita, has been experiencing ongoing sexual harassment on her school route; she laments that she is unable to afford a ‘Gran Sasso’, a device that repels cat calls and forces them back down the offending man’s throat. Melita’s friends come up with a plan to give the perpetrators a taste of their own medicine; the older men are forced to retreat, and Melita is finally able to make her way to school in peace.

1. Dialogue brings the characters to life in ‘Cat Call’. Identify two instances of powerful dialogue and explain how they progress the story.
2. Read the comments that Melita’s parents make about her predicament. Explain how her mother’s perspective differs from that of her father, and explore how gender roles are reinforced in Melita’s home.
3. How do the young people take back their power and agency by the end of the story?
4. Write about the interaction Melita might have with her mother following the events of ‘Cat Calls’. How do you think Melita’s mother would respond?

‘Cool’ by Manjula Padmanabhan

As a ‘SpitRider’, 15-year-old Irfan is charged with collecting an efficient but volatile material known as Saturnium (or ‘Spit’). He was born and raised to carry out this work as part of a mission to find a clean fuel source for humans back on Earth. Being a SpitRider requires fast reflexes and peak physical fitness; it is intermittently exciting, but ultimately a contractual obligation the young riders must fulfill before they can return to Earth. Irfan is more interested in an activity far removed from his action-packed duties: dancing the waltz with his virtual teaching assistant, Leila.

1. How does Padmanabhan build tension in the opening of her story?
2. Look up ‘The Blue Danube’ and consider the significance of this piece of music. In what other speculative fiction texts has it appeared? Why is this a significant reference?
3. How does dancing with Leila give Irfan something to look forward to?
4. What has Irfan missed out on as a result of being born in space and predestined for a particular line of work? Consider whether the impact upon his life has been fair. Does the necessity for clean energy outweigh his personal losses, given that he was never presented with any alternatives?

‘Appetite’ by Amruta Patil

‘Appetite’ is a reflection on learning about the world and interacting with others. The protagonist, Coral, hungers for the myriad experiences and joys to be found in the world and people around her. There are references to the ways the female body is controlled and moralised. Coral’s ‘appetite’ – a desire to take up space and live fully – can almost be seen as an act of rebellion.

1. What is humorous about Coral’s call to her sebaceous glands?
2. What are the two quests from Coral’s youth?
3. What lesson(s) does Coral’s mother teach her using the beehive analogy?
4. What is Coral hungry for?
5. Coral is aware of limitations on her hunger, referencing societal expectations to take up only a little space and hunger for nothing. How does she respond to this?
6. How does Patil use scientific jargon in her story?
7. How do the images bring the text to life?

‘Mirror Perfect’ by Kirsty Murray

Ettie’s father organises an overseas holiday but absconds into an electronics store at the airport, leaving Ettie to care for her twin two-year-old siblings. After wrangling the twins onto the light rail, she finds herself in the mysterious Terminal 7, drowning in the beauty of her own reflection – a stark change from her earlier experience in the airport, where her flaws seem magnified by the harsh lighting and the neediness of her brother and sister.

1. How does Murray portray Ettie’s dissatisfaction and concern about her appearance?
2. Would Ettie’s life actually be easier if she looked like the ‘perfect’ version of herself from Terminal 7? Why or why not?
3. What does Ettie realise at the end of the story when she sees the ‘perfect’ version of herself standing on the platform?

‘Arctic Light’ by Vandana Singh

Grieving her mother, and traumatised by a devastating flood that swept through Mumbai three years earlier, Shaila joins a group of climate activists protesting Arctic drilling. She is arrested and thrown into a Russian prison for eight months. Shaila’s lawyer tries to persuade her to lie about her involvement, but she refuses. She summons enough resolve to survive the last few months in prison and, once released, vows to continue the fight.

1. There is vindication at the end of the piece when India’s youth climate movement begins agitating for change. What are other words describe a climate ‘activist’ or ‘movement’?
2. How has Singh created tension in ‘Arctic Light’?
3. What is the significance of the marker that Fahad Uncle gives Shaila upon her release?
4. Imagine that Shaila is writing a journal entry addressed to her late mother. Write this journal entry in Shaila’s voice, describing what has happened to her and what she plans to do in the future.

‘The Runners’ by Isobelle Carmody, illus. Prabha Mallya

‘The Runners’ depicts a world in which Mothers and their Amazons have wiped out Mankind. Men have been ‘rebuilt’ in physical likeness only, using synthetic and organic material, to complete menial tasks. The story focuses on a girl named Geneva and her ‘brother’ Hel, who represents the culmination of her late mother’s work: he is a synthetic Boy who has evolved to think, feel, and remember.

1. Describe the visual representation of Men and Boys throughout the text.
2. How has Hel been depicted as subservient and submissive to his ‘sister’?
3. Which of Hel’s behaviours and actions contrast him with Geneva? How do they subvert traditional gender roles? How do Carmody and Mallya ask the reader to consider the limitations and expectations placed on gender in our society today?
4. How is Hel the saviour of the story?
5. ‘The Runners’ ends by flashing forward to a future in which Geneva and Hel’s story has been immortalised on film. We see a family watching the film together; the father and son have circles on their cheeks, like Hel. What is suggested in these final frames?

‘The Blooming’ by Manjula Padmanabhan and Kirsty Murray

What initially appears to be a playful study session turns out to be a facade for exploitation. In ‘The Blooming’, humans have colonised an alien planet and created an indentured workforce of human clones. An uprising occurs when Schaum, a distressed teenaged alien, encounters a pair of young clones named Lex and Lou. Their connection, which manifests as a beautiful aurora, leads to the expulsion of the colonisers and the restoration of order to Schaum’s planet.

1. Describe how Lex and Lou’s treatment of Schaum changes once Jerk arrives.
2. What does Schaum learn about vertebrates over the course of the story?
3. How is the planet MaggiNoo liberated from its colonisers?
4. Consider how a playscript differs from a short story and a graphic story. What is lost and gained by writing in this form?
5. Design the set for ‘The Blooming’, drawing on the information provided by the writers. Consider what materials would be used and note this on your work.

‘What a Stone Can’t Feel’ by Penny Russon

‘What a Stone Can’t Feel’ is a gentle tale of grief, loss, and what happens when one half of a friendship is no longer there. In this speculative coming-of-age story, Vega (who has the power to enter inanimate objects) makes a promise to her terminally ill best friend, Bonnie. She reflects on existential questions as she and Bonnie’s family come to terms with their impending loss. As the end draws near, Vega’s power offers a sense of comfort and allows her one last moment of closeness with her friend.

1. What role do the characters with special powers play? Describe how they provide entry into a different space for Vega.
2. Imagine and write about ONE of Vega’s memories from the time before Bonnie was unwell.
3. How has Russon prevented the reader from feeling squeamish or uncomfortable about Bonnie’s final request?
4. Consider what might happen to Vega after Bonnie passes away. Do you think she will continue to pass the time as a stone, or might she befriend Vivian and Adam?

‘Memory Lace’ by Payal Dhar

In this story, a ‘memory lace’ is a record of one’s past, present, and future. It is also a token of a life bought and sold. Sifar is purchased as a slave for Fazal, the daughter of a ‘richwoman’. Unexpectedly, Fazal teaches Sifar how to read and use a tatting shuttle. The two become friends, with Fazal revealing details about her family that indicate they are trying to eradicate slavery.

1. Explain the role of the memory lace in the story.
2. What is the role of gender in the story?
3. How has Dhar subverted gender roles? What effect does this have? How has Dhar relied on the reader’s assumptions to challenge societal expectations of women?
4. Consider the symbolism of lace in terms of the process and the finished product (this BARE Magazine article makes some interesting points, though it does contain some mature language). How does learning to make lace empower Sifar?
5. What comment is Dhar making about class in their story? Is Sifar truly free?

‘Back-stage Pass’ by Nicki Greenberg

‘Back-stage Pass’ pays homage to Ophelia from Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet. The characters are represented as whimsical stylised animals. In the original play, Ophelia has few lines and little personhood or right of reply. This piece gives her authority, a voice, and the opportunity to change her path rather than succumbing to the grisly fate allotted to her by the Bard.

1. What is the impact of ending the anthology with an appropriation and transformation of a play written hundreds of years ago by a white, male playwright?
2. How does the use of zoomorphism allow the reader to relate to Ophelia’s feelings of frustration throughout the play?
3. Think of some other well-known stories, folk tales, and/or fairy tales. Which characters have agency and a voice, and which do not? Identify ONE character who falls into the second group and write their version of events, OR write a new ending to their story.

Looking more closely

Working in pairs, students will read THREE stories from Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean and make notes under the following headings. Encourage them to choose at least ONE graphic story.

Synthesising tasks

Imaginative adaptation to reflection

Working individually, students will select ONE story from the anthology and transform it into a new form. In doing so, they will consider the effect of transformation on the expression of ideas.

Students can take a variety of approaches to this task. Examples include:

• Choosing an extract from a short story and transforming it into a visual text. Students may wish to create an illustration or design a collage to visually represent the main ideas.
• Choosing an extract from a graphic story and rewriting it as prose. Students should consider how to best bring the setting and characters to life.
• Choosing an extract from a short story or graphic story and transforming it into a playscript. Students should provide an overview of the characters involved, as well as describing the set, stage directions, and sound/lighting (where relevant).

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Once they have finished adapting their chosen story, students can produce a written reflection on the following question:

What have you learnt about the act of transforming a text from one form to another?

As an optional extension, you could also ask students to research Freytag’s Pyramid and complete their own diagram based on ONE of the stories from the anthology. They could then write a short reflection on the power of story to engage readers, providing examples of each stage (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution) from their chosen piece.

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Informative advice to imaginative writing

Working in pairs, students will complete ONE of the following tasks (or both, if time permits):

1. Imagine that you and your partner have been approached to contribute to an anthology like Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean. Write a series of letters (or emails) to each other to develop ideas for a collaborative piece of writing. In your letters you will need to brainstorm a worthwhile story topic; consider what kind of character(s) will be the most interesting to write; and decide whether your piece will be a short story, playscript, or graphic story (or another kind of text). You do NOT need to write the actual story.
2. Work together to develop TWO characters. Then write a series of letters from one character to another in the style of an epistolary novel. Each partner will be responsible for writing in ONE character’s voice. It would be interesting to compose an exchange between a grandparent and grandchild who have had different upbringings, or two friends conversing from different parts of the world (like the contributors to Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean).

Make sure that students follow the conventions of letter or email writing, and remind them to proofread and edit their work carefully before turning it in. They should feel free to come up with their own story and character concepts, but if they need help getting started, you could provide them with the following scenario:

The sky blazed, as it always did at this time of year. Not in the way that kids’ drawings show the sun high in the right-hand corner with rays radiating out, while underneath there is a house and flowers and maybe a tree. No way! Not like that. The sky blazed as if it was streaked with dragon fire, with smoke billowing at the edges of each strip of flames. We couldn’t smell the smoke – it was disappearing somewhere into the atmosphere – but we could feel the flames. It was hot, so hot.

It was decided, decades ago, that life would invert during Summer. Instead of ‘Daylight Savings’, we flipped our entire existence and slept through the blaze, going about our lives only at night. Everyone did this – well, almost everyone. Everyone except us. They canned school during the blaze, not to encourage leisurely walks along the beach or chilling with friends, but to top up water supplies, attend to underground crops and animals, and maintain shelters. That was our job: everyone from Year 6 and above was on mandatory ‘Blaze Patrol’. We did the best we could, but most of us had other things on our minds …

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Ways of reading the text

Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean brings together writers and artists who believe that storytelling can be a source of commentary AND a force for change. Although they come from different countries, the issues explored in their work (e.g. equality and freedom) are universal.

Intertextuality

As described in the Introduction, the contributors were tasked with creating stories that responded to (and reimagined) the state of the world. Ask students to consider the impact of each text, its context, and the different ways the contributors approached their task.

One approach was to rewrite traditional stories, placing them in modern or futuristic contexts. ‘Little Red Suit’ is a reimagining of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’; ‘Back-stage Pass’ takes on Shakespeare’s Hamlet; ‘Anarkali’ is inspired by the classic Hindi film Mughal-e-Azam; and ‘Appetite’ refers to Christian, Hindu, and ancient Egyptian religious traditions.

Students can:

• Read some of the aforementioned stories from the anthology (you could allocate different stories to groups of students)
• Discuss how each story draws on the past:
  • What changes were required to make the new story contextually relevant?
  • What aspects of the original story are universal?
  • Did the new story affirm or challenge the original text?
  • In some cases, the form changed from a written to a graphic story – how did this affect the way the story could be told?

Write and reflect

In pairs, students will select a fairy tale from anywhere in the world and discuss how the female characters are represented. Then, working individually, they will adapt this story to follow the brief for Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean, reimagining the world and pushing the boundaries of what women and girls are expected to do and/or be.

Invite students to read their stories to the class, then end with a reflection on intertextuality. What decisions did they have to make to rewrite the fairy tale for a new context?

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Cline

Set up two points on opposite sides of the classroom, one representing ‘agree’ and the other ‘disagree’. Ask students to come up with a range of reflections or provocations that relate to Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean. Examples include:

• The power of story lies in its ability to show us the world as it truly is.
• There is power in representing lived experience in a fictional story.
• Stories are necessary for a fair and just society.
• Without stories, there will be no change.
• Stories are not powerful enough to enact change.
• Stories are for entertainment and should not be expected to have impact.
• Stories offer a glimpse into another world and show us what it could be.
• A life without stories is a husk of what it could be.

Collect the statements and read them aloud one by one, asking students to move to the side of the classroom that best reflects their thinking (they can also position themselves in the middle depending on how strongly they agree or disagree). Give them a moment to consider the underlying reason for their decision, then ask them to justify it.

Reflection questions

1. Four pairs of writers wrote separate stories, but collaborated or communicated throughout the writing process. Choose ONE of these pairs (listed below) and reflect on any differences in subject matter and approach. Are there any similarities in the writers’ choice of motif or underlying themes? Are you able to find evidence of their collaboration? Compare and contrast the two using a Venn diagram:
   1. Justine Larbalestier (‘Little Red Suit’) and Anita Roy (‘Cooking Time’)
   2. Samhita Arni (‘Cast Out’) and Alyssa Brugman (‘Weft’)
   3. Margo Lanagan (‘Cat Calls’) and Vandana Singh (‘Arctic Light’)
   4. Penni Russon (‘What a Stone Can’t Feel’) and Payal Dhar (‘Memory Lace’)
2. Hold a vote to determine the most popular story from the collection. Do you agree or disagree with the outcome? Explain why.
3. Which story do you believe is most relevant to societal concerns today? Explain why the story resonates and why it should be read.
4. The anthology offers many critiques of society and social norms. Argue for the inclusion of ONE story in a time capsule documenting the world as it is today. Justify your choice by reflecting on the subject matter and the way the text has been constructed.
5. Think about the texts you have read/watched/listened to involving a silenced or overlooked character. Who are they and what would you have liked to hear/see from them? Take inspiration from ‘Back-stage Pass’ and brainstorm ways you could give that character a right of reply.
6. Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean is a multi-genre text. Choose ONE story from the anthology (or another story of your choice) that fits into a specific genre and brainstorm ways you could alter it to fit into another genre.
7. Choose THREE stories from the anthology that you could include in a unit of study about conservation. Argue for the inclusion of your choices, reflecting on each text’s subject matter and construction.

Soundtrack

Ask students to choose ONE story from Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean and design a soundtrack to accompany it. They should decide on six key scenes from the story and link each one with a song that creates a mood or reinforces the key themes. The table below may be useful.

Analytical writing: representations of gender

Gender is a key aspect of Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean, which was compiled in response to gendered violence in Australia and India. Ask students to choose ONE short story and ONE graphic story from the anthology and explore the representation of gender in each. What is the writer and/or artist trying to tell the reader? How does the story convey a message about gender and the world today?

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Understanding the process of collaboration

Many of our activities in the modern world involve collaboration. We can meet over long distances using software like Zoom, and communicate via social media and email. We make ourselves part of the story by commenting on Instagram or TikTok, but when it comes to creative writing, many of us rely on the ‘genius’ of authors. We might imagine them as aloof figures, steeped in imagination or inhabiting worlds beyond our own reality. Yet Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean is a testament to the power and success of collaborative storytelling.

The editors hoped that the contributors would think beyond their own cultural expectations, and consider how young people’s lives might be similar or different to their own (p. ix). In this final section of the resource, students will consider the process of collaboration, what it means to the development of story, and whether the editors succeeded in their aim.

Group work

To begin, invite students to share their thoughts/feelings about group work in a whole class discussion. You might ask such questions such as:

• What kinds of tasks have you had to complete in groups? How successful do you think these were?
• Have you ever produced creative writing as a group? Did it work? Why/why not?

Round-robin storytelling

One of the oldest forms of collaborative storytelling is the round-robin story. Direct the class to sit in a circle. Start them off with an opening statement, then go around the circle and have each student add a sentence or two to build a story. The opening statement should be broad enough to allow for some exploration of setting, ideas, or character. For example:

Madena entered the vast library and looked around.

When the round-robin is finished, students can discuss any challenges or surprises that emerged from the collaboration:

• How did the preceding statements control the storyline?
• How did you negotiate ideas in your mind?
• Did you have a clear understanding of plot, characterisation, and/or setting as you created the story? How important was this (or how important would it have been) for you?
• How did previous language choices affect your narrative direction?

A second round might be useful to keep building students’ understanding of narrative. You could adapt this by dividing the class into smaller groups, and perhaps setting a time limit for each speaker (10–15 seconds). Given that Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean also contains visual texts, an added challenge would be to hand out images to each student. When it is their turn to contribute, they can reveal their image and incorporate it into the story. The question that arises here is: what happens to your thinking if you have a preconception about where a story should go, and it suddenly changes?

Paired collaborative writing

Now try this paired writing activity. For the most part, there will be no talking. Decide on an issue that the whole class can explore, OR assign different issues to pairs of students (e.g. climate change; loss of insect species; pandemic; gender equality). Each student will then quietly come up with a plan for a narrative exploring this issue, taking five to ten minutes to think and write before swapping their idea with their partner. Without speaking, each partner will read through the plan they have received and develop it further. They might incorporate an idea of their own, or take the narrative in a slightly different direction. Repeat this process two more times, for a total of FOUR exchanges/additions/alterations per pair.

At this stage students should take some time to talk to their partner about what they received, how they reacted, and how it affected their thinking. Together, they should decide on a pathway that might work for a piece of collaborative writing. You can then regroup as a class and invite students to report on the process of collaboration. Did it work for them? What are the challenges and opportunities for creative collaboration?

Which works best: collaboration or separation?

Illustrators and writers

Have students list some picture book or graphic novel collaborations that they enjoyed, and discuss how the text and illustrations interacted.

Share the following articles about Australian author-illustrator teams. You could use these for a jigsaw activity, splitting the class into three groups and assigning each group a different article to read before sharing their learnings with others.

Discuss the main ideas from the articles as a class. You may also like to discuss the following questions:

• The Australian Writers’ Centre article asserts that publishers prefer authors and illustrators to work separately – why might this be?
• How different or similar are these views on collaboration to those expressed in Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean?

What can we learn about creative collaboration from the anthology?

Reading the Notes on the Collaborations (pp. 202–220) at the end of Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean gives us great insight into the difficulties – as well as the rewards – of creative collaborations. Each composer came to the project with established credentials as creative people, and were asked to collaborate with someone they didn’t know. While some were apprehensive, many were quite positive about the experience; this is evident in the partnership between Kate Constable and Priya Kuriyan (pp. 205–207).

Here are some more statements about collaboration from different contributors:

Using these quotes, and any others students can find, compile a list of positive, negative, and neutral experiences of collaboration from the anthology.

Formative task: informative writing

Manjula Padmanabhan reflects on her collaboration with Kirsty Murray under the playful title: ‘Collaborative Writing, A How-To Guide’ (p. 215). Ask students to compose their own handbook entry on the dos and don’ts of collaborative writing. They can draw on the experiences described in Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean and any other reading they have done in class, including the articles about author-illustrator teams. You may allow time for additional independent research if you wish. Remind students to proofread and edit their work carefully before turning it in.

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Rich assessment tasks

Present students with any number of the following tasks.

Task 1: creative writing

Responding to the world as it is now, choose a cause that is important to you. Decide on a message you would like to impart to a reader/viewer through a written or visual form.

Begin by brainstorming and/or researching your chosen cause. Consider why this issue is significant and think about the impacts it may have in the future. You can then use this futuristic imagining as the setting or inspiration for your piece.

You might like to write a short story, create a comic strip or collage, or combine written and visual forms. Produce your work using a black-and-white colour palette like Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean.

In developing your story, be mindful that you orient the reader, build to a complicating event, and resolve the event with a suggestion for improvement, a warning, or encouragement to enact change.

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Task 2: critical writing

Consider the collaborative nature of a project like Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean, and the significance of storytelling in responding to feelings of helplessness or frustration about the state of the world. Respond to the following question by reflecting on TWO pieces from the anthology, drawing on additional information from the Notes on the Collaborations:

In what way does storytelling unite people and bring about positive change in the world?

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Task 3: persuasive writing

Imagine that you have been asked to deliver a speech to the Australian Society of Authors. Compose a speech on the topic of collaboration, encouraging authors to consider the benefits of working with other writers and/or illustrators.

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