Frank McCourt, Author, Dead At 78
Frank McCourt, beloved Irish-American Pulitzer-winning author and retired schoolteacher, died today of complications relating to meningitis. He was 78. He’d been sick for quite some time after being treated for a bout with melanoma.
McCourt’s childhood was, to say the least, an incredibly sad one. He grew up in utter poverty first in Brooklyn, where he was born, then in Ireland, where his family moved when he was four years-old after being unable to find work during the Great Depression. What followed were years of McCourt being surrounded by alchoholism, sickness, depression, and hunger: three of his siblings died as children, his father was always looking for work, and he was forced to quit school when he was 13 in order to take odd jobs (including some slightly criminal ones) in order to help keep what remained of his family alive. This period in his life were the foundation for his first memoirs, 1996’s Angela’s Ashes, which launched him to worldwide fame. It won the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and was adapted into a feature film.
McCourt moved back to Brooklyn when he was 19, where he was drafted into Military service for a short time before coming back and getting his masters degree to teach. He remained a public high school English teacher for thirty years, eventually ending up at, among other places, Manhattan’s famed Stuyvesant High School, which has a pretty notable list of alumni. Much of these experiences were chronicled in his bestselling third memoir, Teacher Man. His second book, Tis, was also a bestseller; it’s centered around his years emigrating his family back to America after the events chronicled in Angela’s Ashes.
McCourt’s survived by a daughter and a granddaughter. The man has far too many good quotes to pull from, but the LA Times sufficent obituary pulled a pretty good one that’s very telling of his success story: a guy who found his fame in his later years, and was revered worldwide for it:
We were all storytellers growing up,” McCourt said of his family in a 2000 interview with the Toronto Sun. “That’s all we had. There was no TV or radio. We’d sit around the fire and make up stories. My dad was a great storyteller. We’d mention a neighbour, and he’d make up a story. “But I also had to be a great storyteller to survive teaching. I spent 30 years in the classroom. When you stand before 170 teenagers each day, you have to get and keep their attention. Their attention span is about seven minutes, which is the time between commercials. So you have to stay on your toes.”
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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
@eleusiswalks: My mom begged me to read AA but I didn't want to if it would make me sad. I may read some of his work one day. I'm ashamed to admit I haven't yet. I'm not, however, ashamed to admit I utterly enjoyed him when he was Late Night with Conan O'Brien and thought he was definitely one of the all-time best guests that show ever had. I made a point to watch when he was on and usually resolved to read his work afterward. It's a sad day for literature. I'll resolve to be depressed and put AA and Teacher Man on my library list.
We are going to be busy come Decvember 31st. Even one drink for all those I have on my list, and they'll need to put me in the ICU.
I found a copy of Angela's Ashes in my flat while I was studying abroad in Dublin. I read it while traveling throughout Europe and couldn't put it down. Eventually I read Tis and, most recently, Teacher Man. Frank McCourt is my favorite author. I was lucky to see him in person once, when he read at the Bloomsday celebration at Symphony Space in 2008. Rest in Peace Frank--you were wonderful.
MashedPotatoes
he's one of the guys i wish i could have met growing up. i read his books when i was still a teenager and, although not irish or from new york, i could see something of him in my own family's history. he also contributed to my early interest in Ireland and the country's history in relation to mine. my father, edwin reyes, was a respected writer in Puerto Rico, but i only wish he had been as worthcoming about his own family history and my country's as mr. mccourt.
@Sargasm: Agreed. This is especially sad. I've read Angela's Ashes over and over again. I think it's safe to say that it's probably my favorite book.
Slán go fóill, Mr. McCourt.
shorty63136
Oh, Grim Reaper, how busy you've been lately. I can't keep up with the latest number of 'threes' it's been. How about you knock it off for a little while and let us keep some of the good ones around a little bit longer?
@1.1.1.: Now you've done it. I wasn't going to cry, but now I'm softly weeping. This is one of my favorite songs ever, and a perfect choice for this sad occasion.
Goodnight, Mr. McCourt, and thank you for all the beautiful words.
SarikaJalope
@MartinaO:
To the responders: Mortified is such a perfect word for that generation of Irish, it acknowledges their huge, massive, almost crippling distress, without actually saying there is something that they can acknowledge is wrong. MORT-i-fied! (eyes roll to heaven) McCourt opened up a lot of second-generation (child of immigrants) eyes, I happen to be younger as I'm on the end of the family, but my parents would NEVER speak of the hard times-- then McCourt puts it to paper, and its all "ah, sure, so, it was what it was" Thanks Frank, for telling the one Irish fairytale that was probably true. Gave me a world of insight, fairies or not.
@MartinaO: Along with many other factors, I do think "Angela's Ashes" forced a certain reckoning in Ireland, a certain facing up to the past in a searing, honest way. Yes, it was that bad, and yes, the Church was brutish and abusive. Along with the Church scandals, the rise of technology and the Internet, "Angela's Ashes" in a way helped Ireland face and heal the past in the 1990's, helped Ireland to jump into the 21st century. Speaking honestly of the misery, wiping away the dishonesty and excuses, facing uncomfortable truths.. McCourt's book was a painful spur to this self-reckoning in Ireland. But a damned positive one- the young Irish especially deserve to be free of the lies and hypocrisy of the past, no matter if older folks resent McCourt's airing unpleasant truths. Let them soar.
@eleusiswalks:It starts out depressing as hell and then it gets extremely funny. Try it again. Do not be put off by the misery in the beginning. I think it's one of the most wonderful books ever written. Not a lot of authors can have you bawling at the beginning of a book, laughing in the middle, and weeping again -- but with joy -- by the end.
@1.1.1.: My mother couldn't get through Angela's Ashes either.
It evoked too many sad memories for her. She was born in Cork but experienced nowhere near the poverty described in AA. There must be a common sadness if you're an Irishwoman of a certain age.
@OrneryBabe: It's great but I just can't do it. I am a wuss.
eleusiswalks
@MartinaO:
I'm not surprised your mother refused to read it. In a documentary, McCourt said that his mother would have been mortified by Angela's Ashes. Absolutely, sink-into-the-ground mortified.
As you know, the good people of Limerick weren't too happy either, although they got over it.
1.1.1.
'Tis is highly underrated in my opinion. My theory is that he discussed the kinds of topics that Gawker often treats, such as the effect of class, and it was troubling to his upper middle class reviewers.
Sure, he was bitter, but it was understandable, and he owned it. His portrait of himself, while not fully detailed, was pretty unflattering and more honest than in most memoirs.
I love one of the documentaries in which he says that for half his life he wanted nothing more than to be middle class. When he finally made it there, with a decent job and a nice middle class wife and home, he realized he wanted adventure.
1.1.1.
@eleusiswalks: Oh, Angela's Ashes was amazing. Depressing as all hell, but wonderful nonetheless. What a resilient family they were. RIP, Mr. McCourt.
OrneryBabe
Not one to pull rank, and thats not the right word, but my parents are Irish of McCourt's generation and they never, never spoke of how hard life was. Their deprivations manifested in strange ways with their American children, of which I am the fifth of six. The horrors of being so poor, so misunderstood in their Irish childhood -- though my parents weren't quite as bad off, but the thinking patterns and routines, etc, were the same as Angela's Ashes, and my mother refused to read it. I did, and am better off from doing so. Kudos to you that had him as a teacher, sounds like he did a great job.
One of my heroes – what an amazing man. Goodbye, Mr. McCourt.
@Foster Kamer: Ah, but Angela's Ashes is such a beautifully written book, it makes up for the sadness; it is well worth the tears. Teacher Man is fantastic too though – I don't think it deserves a lot of the criticism that it gets.
Oh, the summer time is coming,
And the trees are sweetly blooming,
And the wild mountain thyme
grows around the blooming heather.
Chorus:
Will you go, lassie, go?
And we'll all go together
To pull wild mountain thyme
All around the blooming heather,
Will you go lassie, go?
I will build my love a bower
By yon clear and crystal fountain,
And on it I will pile
All the flowers of the mountain.
If my true love, she won't have me,
I will surely find another
To pull wild mountain thyme
All around the blooming heather.
Oh, the summer time is coming
And the trees are sweetly blooming
And the wild mountain thyme
Grows around the blooming heather.
@1.1.1.: Mine too. I burst into tears when I heard; I read all his books more than once, and he felt like someone I knew and loved.
Of all the money that ere I had, I spent it in good company.
And of all the harm that ere I've done, alas was done to none but me.
And all I've done for want of wit, to memory now I cannot recall.
So fill me to the parting glass. Goodnight and joy be with you all.
Of all the comrades that ere I had, they're sorry for my going away,
And of all the sweethearts that ere I had , they wish me one more day to stay,
But since it falls unto my lot that I should rise while you should not,
I will gently rise and I'll softly call, "Goodnight and joy be with you all!"
1.1.1.
"When I look back on my childhood, I wonder how I survived at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: The happy childhood is hardly worth your while."
When I read that, I thought, I have to send this to my siblings.
One of them beat me to it, writing:
"Maybe there's hope for us."
1.1.1.
Met him at a local (Virginia) Book Dinner event-- a lovely man, happy to chat with a dopey reader. And he could really write.
rosalindavenue
Gah! No! Well i'll re-read Angela's Ashes in memorial tomorrow, one of the few books I actually vividly remember because it was simply so darkly beautiful, books like that and The Prince of Tides really stay with me.
milominderbinder
@Baroness: Sometimes, karma works out. Crazy.
RIP, with affection and sorrow at the news. A fine writer, an honest soul, someone who gave his best as a teacher to our great city of New York. And gratifyingly got his due, later in life. No young hotshot novelist, he earned it in the school of life, with a beautiful, lifelong love of language. Here's to you, Mr. McCourt.
He was my high school english teacher,,,Teacher Man,,,was about us,,,i always wanted to meet him again,,a kind and gentle man,,i will pray a Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet for his soul,,he will be missed,,,rest in peace,,,m.m.
SadhanaGauzer
OMG!!! I am so sorry. I didn't know!
After I read Angela's Ashes I dove deep into exploring my Irish heritage. I wasn't disappointed. Such a great man.
@Foster Kamer: Thank you. I could never get through Angela's Ashes, but the prose was stunning.
eleusiswalks
One of my favorite living writers.
1.1.1.
McCourt was the commencement speaker at my college graduation. His speech was so witty and honest. I'd read Angela's Ashes in high school, but it was wonderful to hear him speak.
mina324
If you've never read McCourt, but don't feel like going through all the depressing Irish sadness of his first two books, Teacher Man - probably his least read book - is utterly fantastic. Also, if you ever had an English teacher you loved, it's a must-read.
He was a legend at Stuyvesant, with students jockeying for entrance to his literally standing-room-only classes (if SRO high-school classes sound strange to you - stuyvesant was/is a strange place). He retired shortly before I was there, but his reputation (this was 5 years before he was known as a writer) remained for (at least the years I was there).
JuliaRonsonGessen
I have an elderly Irish friend, who just loved Frank McCourt, and often says that "Angela's Ashes" is quite similar to his own story. He didn't have a pair of shoes till he was about 10 - and remembers the day his village was wired for electricity. His stories gave "Angela's Ashes" very real resonance for me.
RIP Frank. My most heartfelt condolences to Malachy and the rest of the family. I am deeply saddened.
@downlow: I think this is the push I need to finally read AA. I have always heard it was a heartbreaker, but maybe now is the time! Box of kleenex, bottle of whiskey, here I come...
lukfarang
@Baroness: yes, we do! but the lies and hypocrisy just keep coming e.g.: the Ryan Report.