Frank McCourt, Favourite Author of Irish Fact

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."

All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
(See Copyrights for details)