I met Frank McCourt, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for writing, at at the 1999  Imapct II Teachnet Conference at the J.P. Morgan dinner in New York.    Frank McCourt was a writing teacher at Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan for many years before writing this groundbreaking novel.   He lives  in the city of New York returning home to his roots in Limerick.
Even before he started speaking, this Limerick man and author of Angela's Ashes  received the applause of educators and guest.
"When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course,
a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary
miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood"
McCourt said there was never a question about teaching as far as a career choice was concerned.
"I got into teaching  because of two things, literature and kids. There's nothing  more important than children,
" he told the teachers who gave him a standing ovation at the end of his talk
McCourt regaled the audience with a portrait of the artist as a "less than mediocre student," who worked
nights and slept through many of his  classes. "But teaching kept me on my toes," he quipped.
"You can't fall asleep while you're teaching."

Frank McCourt graciously takes
time to sign copies of Angela's Ashes
for Mr. Black

Limerick of Angela's Ashes
This web site includes an extensive written tour with photos and drawings of Limerick, McCourt's childhood home.

It took him until after retirement from Stuyvesant High School to start Angela's Ashes, and two years to finish
it. Now McCourt is at work on a sequel called
'Tis, recounting his personal growth while teaching in the public school
 

Mr. Black is an Impact II Teachnet Web Mentor
and a Baltimore City Public Schools System's Teacher