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)
Frank McCourt

Author Frank McCourt
Born August 19, 1930 (1930-08-19) (age 77)
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Nationality Flag of the United States American
Flag of Ireland Irish
Debut works Angela’s Ashes (1996)
Spouse Ellen Frey (1994-present)
Relations Malachy McCourt (brother)

Francis "Frank" McCourt (born August 19, 1930) is an Irish-American teacher and author.

Contents

Frank McCourt was born in New York. However, his family returned to their native Ireland in 1934. After quitting school at age 13, Frank alternated between odd jobs and petty crime in an effort to feed himself, his mother, and three surviving brothers, Malachy, Michael, and Alphonsus (Alphie). 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). At first he had trouble teaching, because his students were unruly and disobedient. But eventually Frank McCourt became a very experienced teacher. He ended his teaching career after 30 years.

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.

Colum McCann, unknown, Christopher Cahill and Frank McCourt
Colum McCann, unknown, Christopher Cahill and Frank McCourt

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.

  • "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."

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