Frank McCourt, Favourite Author of Irish Fact

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Francis "Frank" McCourt - Pulitzer Prize-winning author

Francis "Frank" McCourt (August 19, 1930 - July 19, 2009) was an Irish-American teacher and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, best known as the author of Angela's Ashes, a memoir of the misery and squalor of his childhood. His brother is author and actor Malachy McCourt.

He received the Pulitzer Prize (1997) and National Book Critics Circle Award (1996) for his memoir Angela's Ashes (1996), which details his childhood as a poor Irish Catholic in Limerick. He is also the author of 'Tis (1999), which continues the narrative of his life, picking up from the end of the previous book and focusing on life as a new immigrant in America. Teacher Man (2005), detailed the challenges of being a young, uncertain teacher who must impart knowledge to his students. His works are often part of the syllabus in high schools. In 2002 he was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Western Ontario.

McCourt did not use quotation marks in his writing, meaning readers must pay close attention to determine when someone else is speaking as opposed to the narrator himself.

Frank McCourt was a member of the National Arts Club and is a recipient of The International Center in New York's Award of Excellence.

His brother Malachy McCourt, a former radio host, is also an autobiographical writer. Together they created the stage play A Couple of Blaguards , a two-man show about their lives and experiences.

Frank McCourt is survived by his wife Ellen in New York City and Connecticut. He had a daughter, Maggie, with his first wife, and a granddaughter, Chiara.

Bibliography

* Angela's Ashes (1996)
* 'Tis (1999)
* Teacher Man (2005)
* Angela and the Baby Jesus (2007)

Quotes

* "F. Scott Fitzgerald said there are no second acts in American lives. I think I've proven him wrong. And all because I refused to settle for a one-act existence, the 30 years I taught English in various New York City high schools."

* "In school, if they told me write an essay of 150 words, I'd write 500 words."

* "I know the best deadly sin. And what do you think that is? Sloth, because that means laziness. And if you're not doing anything, you won't commit any of the other deadly sins."

* "I didn't call myself anything. I was more than a teacher. And less. In the high school classroom you are a drill sergeant, a rabbi, a shoulder to cry on, a disciplinarian, a singer, a low level scholar, a clerk, a referee, a clown, a counselor, a dress-code enforcer, a conductor, an apologist, a philosopher, a collaborator, a tap dancer, a traffic cop, a priest, a mother-father-brother-sister-uncle-aunt, a bookkeeper, a critic, a psychologist, the last straw."

* "I was already dreaming of a school where teachers were guides and mentors,not taskmasters."

* "I'm teaching. Storytelling is teaching. Storytelling is a waste of time. I can't help it. I'm not good at lecturing."

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About Angela's Ashes

How I fell in Love

It is no secret to anyone who knows me or knows of me that I have a passion for Ireland - anything Irish. I love the Irish people, the nation, the geography, the country, teh traditions, the sense of humour, the history, the triumphs, I love Irish Music, Irish actors (Liam Neesom here I come), I love Irish Literature, poets and playwrights. I love irish Movies. Added to my list of loves - and I mean this in every sense of the word - I love Frank McCourt.

I first came across Frank McCourt after visiting Ireland 4 times in one year. Feeling desperately sorry for myself and yearning for a life on the Emerald Isle, and after having read everything on Ireland I had, including the Famine, my beloved daughter Doey handed me a copy of Angela's Ashes and said, "Hey Mum, I think this guy's Irish... and I think it's non-fiction too!" I was sold!

What I wasn't prepared for was the ridiculous sounds emanating from my bedroom as I lay there that night trying to stifle not even giggles, but guffaws of laughter - and then tears, as I was transformed into a place I could only have imagined.

Shortly after finishing the book (well that very evening in fact) I went in search of the DVD... and I was not disappointed. Very often the images and portrayals in a moving picture do not live up to one's expectations after reading the book. Wow, was I in a state of transformation. Frank McCourt had a fan for life.

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created by Donnette

On Angela's Ashes

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Teaching Secrets

Teaching Secrets - The Story from American Public Media.

Before Frank McCourt became famous as the author of "Angela's Ashes" and "'Tis," he was for 30 years a high school English teacher in New York. His book about that experience is "Teacher Man."

When McCourt's book tour took him to North Carolina, Dick was there to meet him at a stomping ground familiar to McCourt: a Catholic high school. Dick watched as Frank enthralled the kids, provoked nervous laughter from the teachers, and showed everyone how to take command of a classroom.



Listen Now!

Download

CREDIT: http://thestory.org/archive/the_story_154_Teaching_Secrets.mp3/view

Bring the Emerals Isle Home.

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Recent blog posts about Frank McCourt, Author of Angela's Ashes

Frank McCourt brightens anyone's day listening to his podcasts, interviews and of course reading his books. A teacher now in the USA I can only wonder in envy at the Luck o' those fellas to have had this man day in and day out.
Summer loving for the gourmet at heart
We then went around the corner to the Frank McCourt Museum (www.frankmccourtmuseum.com), which is a step back into the Thirties and into the childhood life of the Pulitzer prize-winning eponymous author of Angela's Ashes. The museum is set in what was ...
'Ora's Boy': Inspiration, sympathy from a hard early life
By MIKE CULLITY About 10 years ago, James Novak read ?Angela's Ashes,? the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1996 memoir by Frank McCourt that chronicles the author's impoverished childhood in Ireland and subsequent escape to America.
Getting Your Irish On at the PEN World Voices Festival
Comparisons are invidious, but Hugo Hamilton is clearly a successor to the late Frank McCourt, author of the celebrated ?Angela's Ashes,? in the tradition of Irish memoir. Hamilton read from his book, ?The Speckled People,? as part of the PEN World ...
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Can the author write or not? What is his or her special gift? Some authors scribble with such grace - "Angela's Ashes" author Frank McCourt being one, F. Scott Fitzgerald another - that I no longer care what happens. Sing to me, baby. Just sing.

Great Stuff by and on Frank McCourt on Amazon

ALWAYS worth watching, reading and listening to

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On 'Tis

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Additional Info and Resources for Frank McCourt

FInd out More About this irish Wonderman!

St Aidens Homeschool - Ireland - Frank McCourt
St Aiden's Educator's Calendar - Irish-Heritage Month. Video interview with Frank McCourt as well as mountains of information, links and resources to this prize-winning author.
St Aidens ~ Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
St Aiden's Educator's Calendar - Ireland information, ireland lesson plans, irish literature, irish artists, irish folk music, ireland for kids, ireland for educators, ireland the island, irish symbols, irish history, Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
St Aidens Homeschool - Irish Heritage Month - Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
St Aiden's Educator's Calendar ~ Irish Heritage Month - Angela's Ashes:

'Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish
childhood', so writes Frank McCourt in his Pulitzer Prize winning novel. This is a story of extreme poverty and hardship that is not for the faint hearted. Indeed it sometimes traverses the line between entertainment and enlightenment.
Angela's Ashes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
if (wgNotice != '') document.writeln(wgNotice); Angela’s Ashes From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about the book. For the film, see Angela's Ashes (film).
Angela's Ashes  First edition cover
Au
Frank McCourt
Frank McCourt Profile -- Academy of Achievement
Frank McCourt

"F. Scott Fitzgerald said there are no second acts in American lives. I think I've proved him wrong. And all because I refused to settle for a one-act existence, the 30 years I taught English in various New York City high schools."

Frank McCourt was already retired when he published his first book at age 66. Angela's Ashes, a memoir of his impoverished boyhood in Limerick, Ireland, shot to the top of the best-seller lists and remained there for over a year. Angela's Ashes won McCourt the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Biography. It was still topping the paperback lists when McCourt's second book 'Tis hit the bookstores, and the best-seller lists.

"After retiring from teaching I wanted a second act, not a rocker in Florida," McCourt says. After a lifetime of helping young people find their own voices, Frank McCourt has found his own, and millions of readers have found a friend to treasure.
Frank McCourt Filmography
Filmography of Frank McCourt
St Aidens ~ Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
St Aiden's Educator's Calendar - Ireland information, ireland lesson plans, irish literature, irish artists, irish folk music, ireland for kids, ireland for educators, ireland the island, irish symbols, irish history, Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
Frank McCourt DVD Movies and Videos
Frank McCourt DVD movies and videos to buy at CD Universe, Great service secure ordering and fast shipping at everyday discount prices.
St Aidens ~ Ireland - Frank McCourt
St Aiden's Educator's Calendar - Frank McCourt information and Videos

Great Stuff from Frank McCourt on Amazon

DVD and Audio Files

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Reader Feedback

  • michellegeaney Nov 24, 2011 @ 2:20 am | delete
    Fabulous lens- I love Frank MCourt; was delighted when filming on angelas ashes began even though i was about 12 at the time. Read the book later in life- understood it more, especially the catholic childhood references. Very sad he passed away. Well laid out lens.
  • blue22d Aug 10, 2009 @ 3:18 pm | delete
    Yes, he was an excellent author. I am sorry he did not start writing sooner since we lost him recently. Nice work. ***** to ya.
  • Donnette Jul 6, 2011 @ 7:27 am | delete
    Very long delay in replying, apologies.. not sure how I missed your message... Yes it is sad that he passed on... His sense of humor lives on in my collection of memorabilia of this great author.

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Donnette

Proud Squidoo Rocketmom and Giant Squid :) I am me, first and foremost mom to 6 blessings, a HUGE fan of REAL people... passionate about everything! more »

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