McCourt, Frank
Identification American author
Born August 19, 1930; Brooklyn, New York
McCourt’s artful, emotionally wrenching first memoir won
the Pulitzer Prize in biography in 1997 and was a best seller
for over three years. The book is credited with generating an
increase in popularity of the memoir genre.
In the early 1990’s, after retiring from teaching high
school in New York City for thirty years, Frank
McCourt sat down to write a memoir. What resulted
from this project was an account of his childhood
that was an unprecedented literary and commercial
success. The book, titledAngela’s Ashes(1996), cen-
ters on the first eighteen years of McCourt’s life,
which was spent primarily in Ireland, in extreme
poverty. His sensitive prose, combined with a conver-
sational and engaging style, elevated the genre of
memoir to a new level.
Upon its publication,Angela’s Ashesreceived great
critical and public acclaim, winning such prestigious
accolades as the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Critics
Circle Award,SalonBook Award, American Library
Association Award,Los Angeles TimesBook Award,
and many other book of the year awards from
magazines and newspapers across the United States.
McCourt enjoyed instant stardom as a first-time
author at the age of sixty-five.
The book was distributed in
eighteen countries and became
a modern classic.
Angela’s Ashesrelates the life
of an impoverished Irish family
in the 1930’s and 1940’s from a
child’s perspective. An alcoholic
father who eventually abandons
the family, two brothers and a sis-
ter who die in infancy, and his
mother, Angela, who tries to
hold everything together, make
for a captivating tale, told with
humor, grief, and every emotion
in between. As the boy Frank ma-
tures, he takes on more responsi-
bilities for the family and learns
some hard lessons along the way.
In 1998, McCourt, his brother
Malachy, and nephew Conor
teamed up to produce a docu-
mentary film titledThe McCourts of Limerick.Ase-
quel,The McCourts of New York, was produced the fol-
lowing year. McCourt published a second memoir,
’Tis, in 1999. It centers on McCourt’s experiences as
a young man returning to America, trying to carve
out a life for himself and find a better future, and the
challenges he faces as a person caught between the
cultures of Ireland and America. This book was also
a critical and commercial success, shooting to the
top of the best-seller lists immediately after it was
published. In 1999, a film titledAngela’s Ashes, based
on McCourt’s first memoir, was released.Impact Frank McCourt’s contribution to Ameri-
can letters, especially in the memoir genre, gener-
ated a new interest in biography, memoir, and the
immigrant experience. Few authors are so admired
by both their peers and the public.Further Reading
McCourt, Frank.Angela’s Ashes.New York: Scribner,
1996.
_______.Teacher Man.New York: Scribner, 2005.
_______.’Tis. New York: Scribner, 1999.
Kris BigalkSee also Book clubs; Film in the United States; Lit-
erature in the United States; Publishing.536 McCourt, Frank The Nineties in America
Frank McCourt.(Gasper Tringale/Scribner)