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| David Shankbone |
A Chat With Frank McCourt
by Susan Avery
In honor of St. Patrick's Day, the beloved autobiographer snarks a few one liners
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Angela's Ashes had no easy life. His lively wit belies a childhood of poverty that began in Brooklyn and continued on a hopeful return to Ireland. The future novelist was sacked with the burden of an alcoholic father and the label of teenage dropout. He returned to the United States and worked odd jobs until he got drafted into the Army to fight in the Korean War. On the G.I. Bill, and with his remarkable power of persuasion, he convinced the powers at New York University to let him matriculate. In an ironic twist, McCourt found himself a job after graduation as a public-school teacher.
But it wasn't until he retired from teaching that he wrote his life story. Since its publication in 1999, Angela's Ashes has sold more than 4 million copies, been published in 27 countries, and translated into 17 languages.
Grandparents.com had a chance to have a quick e-mail chat with the author to find out if his remarkable storytelling abilities have rubbed off on his granddaughter.
Grandparents.com: How does your past, as we’ve all read in Angela’s Ashes, affect your grandparenting of Chiara? Did your own grandparents influence you?
Frank McCourt: In Ireland, in my generation, there was no "grandparenting." Usually they didn't live long enough.
GP: What was it like being Mr. McHoof in Jakers!, the PBS children's show?
FM: I did Mr. McHoof once. Maybe I wasn't a big hit. I haven't been asked back.
GP: Does Chiara come to you for writing tips?
FM: Chiara is a pretty good writer (at 15) but like most kids her age she thinks she knows it all.
GP: Guinness or Murphy’s?
FM: No beer. I suffer something called celiac disease: no pasta, no bread, no beer, no vodka. In the old days, however, it was Guinness.
GP: Have you ever inverted and kissed the Blarney Stone?
FM: People with all kinds of oral diseases kiss the Blarney Stone and I, inverted or otherwise, don't want to lose my lips at any cost.
| Was this worth including in this newsletter?
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| How ironic,a man of such brilliant words answers questions with but a few! I love how he describes his 15 year old granddaughter(she knows it all)....As a Mom of 3(past that 15 year old mark,it is true)...And I hope he had a great Saint Patricks Day!
Best,
Diane Fond or smzecfc7(my screename on www.Grandparents.com)
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| I can only hope that Frank McCourt gets this message.
I own and love all your books, However,
I just spent $13 for Angela and the Baby Jesus. I ordered it from Amazon.com) It took me 10 minutes to read it and my 7 year old grandson took 15 minutes.
The story is lovely, however, I am very disappointed in the cost of 10 minutes of reading time. I should have borrowed it from the library and saved my money for a full length book.
If your publisher is the one who talked you into cheating people, then shame on them for making you look cheap!
I won't be buying any more of your books until I have checked them out at the library.
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