'Sticks and Stones' by Trezza Azzopardi

"Trezza Azzopardi's 'Sticks and Stones', was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 as part of a five part series under the umbrella title 'Second Generation'.

Five British born writers who are the children of immigrants (four of them primarily novelists) were asked to contribute stories; the resulting tales were as diverse as the roots of the writers.

Marina Lewcyka, whose parents came from the Ukraine and who is the author of A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian wrote about a child's attempts to fit in to a different culture in 'The Importance of Having Warm Feet’; Peter Ho Davies, already well known for his published collections of short stories, some of which we have broadcast before, wrote about literally creating a second generation with his story 'Pirates' about video piracy; Rana Dasgupta's story 'The Horse' was about the power of words and Helen Oyeyemi wrote about a journey of discovery through the beautiful landscapes of her parents' homeland, Nigeria.

Trezza Azzopardi, whose first novel The Hiding Place was broadcast on 'Book at Bedtime' and shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the James Tait Prize in 2000, comes from a Maltese family who came to Wales in the 1950s.

She was a student on the Creative Writing Course at UEA and now writes and lectures in Norwich. Her second novel Remember Me was published in 2004, and she is now working on her third novel, which she has used as the inspiration for a powerful and perceptive story that throws light on a too prevelant problem for many.

Her story 'Sticks and Stones' is a perfect example of just how much can be conveyed in a mere 2000 words. She succeeds in interweaving past and present in a story which has depth, tragedy and resolution." Di Speirs, Executive Producer, Readings, BBC Radio 4.

Download 'Sticks and Stones'
Microsoft Word .doc format (35Kb)
Adobe Acrobat .pdf format (85Kb)

Read Di Speirs article on the BBC and its work with the short story