Frank McCourt
Before setting out to write his memoirs, Frank McCourt spent over a quarter of a century teaching students creative writing in the New York City school system. Born in Brooklyn, New York, McCourt’s Irish immigrant family moved back to Ireland in hopes of a better life. Instead, the family lived in abject poverty and desperation – the account of this period of McCourt’s life is the main subject of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Angela’s Ashes. When he was 19, he returned to the United States and was eventually drafted into the Army. Upon his discharge, McCourt took advantage of the G.I. Bill to go to New York University, despite the fact that he had never graduated from high school. After college, McCourt taught writing during the school year, and worked on versions of a novel during the summer. The novel recounted the mind-numbing and sometimes brutal existence in Limerick, Ireland, while capturing poignant and comic moments of hope. This novel – Angela's Ashes – was finally published in 1996 after he retired as a schoolteacher. His second book, ‘Tis, starts with his arrival back to the U.S. as a teenager and was also a best-seller. Frank McCourt continues to live and write in New York.
