Frank McCourt

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This article is about the author and memoirist. For the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and real estate developer, see Frank McCourt (executive)

Francis "Frank" McCourt (born August 19, 1930) is an Irish-American teacher and author. He was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Limerick, Ireland. At the age of 19 he returned to the United States and earned a degree from New York University. After receiving a masters degree from Brooklyn College in 1958, he taught English at McKee High School and Stuyvesant High School in New York City (where he joined the American Federation of Teachers).

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. His latest title is Teacher Man (2005), detailing 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.

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 a member of the National Arts Club.

Frank McCourt lives with his wife Ellen in New York City and Connecticut. He has a daughter Maggie, with his first wife and a granddaughter, Chiara.

[edit] Bibliography

• Angela's Ashes (1996)
• 'Tis (1999)
• Teacher Man (2005)

[edit] Quotes

• "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."
• "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."

[edit] External links

• Angela's Ashes review
• Joseph Krutov's Interview with Frank McCourt about Teacher Man
• Hard lessons, Interview by Jay MACDONALD