Frank Mccourt Quotes

Powerful Frank Mccourt for Daily Growth

About Frank Mccourt

Frank McCourt (August 19, 1930 – July 19, 2009) was an Irish-American teacher, author, and memoirist, best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning book "Angela's Ashes." Born in Limerick, Ireland, McCourt was the eldest of a large family living in poverty. His childhood was marked by extreme hardship, with his family struggling to cope with unemployment, illness, and the harsh realities of life in post-Depression Ireland. At age nine, McCourt immigrated to New York City with his brother Malachy, leaving behind his mother, father, and siblings. The experiences of this journey and the years that followed served as the foundation for "Angela's Ashes," a poignant and humorous account of his difficult upbringing in Ireland and America. The book, published in 1996, became an international bestseller and established McCourt as a prominent writer. In 1957, McCourt became a naturalized American citizen and later worked as a teacher in New York City's public schools for over 30 years. He returned to Ireland in 1998 after the success of "Angela's Ashes," where he continued writing and teaching. His other works include "Teacher Man" (2005), a memoir about his experiences as an educator, and "'Tis" (1999), a sequel to "Angela's Ashes." Frank McCourt was influenced by the storytelling tradition of his Irish roots, the resilience and humor of his family, and the struggles he faced growing up. His writing, characterized by its raw honesty, wit, and emotional depth, has touched millions of readers worldwide. McCourt passed away in 2009 at the age of 78, leaving behind a powerful legacy that continues to inspire generations.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Someone took a knife to my heart and twisted it with relish."

This quote suggests deep emotional pain and anguish, where one feels betrayed, hurt, or wounded in a profound way. The phrase "took a knife" implies a violent act, while the addition of "twisted it with relish" suggests that the perpetrator enjoyed inflicting this pain. Overall, it evokes feelings of sorrow and anger, as well as a sense of powerlessness or vulnerability.

"The more I read, the more I hunger for the real thing."

This quote by Frank McCourt suggests that as one's knowledge and understanding expand through reading, it ignites a growing curiosity and yearning to experience reality firsthand. It implies that books, while informative and enlightening, can only go so far in satisfying our quest for genuine human connections and authentic life experiences. This sentiment underscores the value of both literary education and personal encounters in shaping one's perspective on the world.

"We were too poor to live anywhere but in the past."

This quote suggests that the characters, likely referring to the McCourt family in "Angela's Ashes," lived so impoverished that they could not afford to focus on the present moment. Instead, they dwelled in memories of the past, as it provided an escape from their current hardships and a sense of comfort and familiarity compared to the harsh realities of their daily lives. In essence, the past became a sanctuary for them when the present was too difficult to bear.

"The older I get, the more I value the memories of the past rather than their repetition in the present."

Frank McCourt's quote highlights a common aspect of aging; the growing appreciation for past memories over their reoccurrence in the present. It suggests that as we age, we tend to place more significance on cherished recollections from our past, regarding them with greater emotional depth and nostalgia. These memories serve as valuable life lessons, shape our identities, and provide us with a sense of continuity. Their repetition in the present may not offer the same level of richness, novelty, or personal growth as experiencing new situations and events does. Ultimately, this quote underscores the importance of cherishing the past while also embracing the opportunities and experiences that the future holds.

"Families are not always idyllic places. Good families, I daresay, are the exception, not the rule."

This quote emphasizes that idealized family structures, often depicted in fiction or media, may not be representative of most real-life experiences. The author suggests that functional, loving, and close-knit families, which many people strive for, are actually exceptions rather than the norm. It's a reminder that family dynamics can be complex, challenging, and at times difficult, but it's these imperfections and struggles that ultimately make families valuable and unique.

I had moments with my father that were exquisite - the stories he told me about Cuchulain, the mythological Irish warrior, are still magical to me.

- Frank McCourt

Warrior, Still, Stories, Mythological

You sail into the harbor, and Staten Island is on your left, and then you see the Statue of Liberty. This is what everyone in the world has dreams of when they think about New York. And I thought, 'My God, I'm in Heaven. I'll be dancing down Fifth Avenue like Fred Astaire with Ginger Rogers.'

- Frank McCourt

Dancing, Thought, Sail, York

Just luxuriate in a certain memory, and the details will come. It's like a magnet attracting steel filings.

- Frank McCourt

Memory, Steel, Will, Magnet

They all went into the bar business. Which was a mistake, because they began to sip at the merchandise and it set them back, set us all back. Well, them more than I.

- Frank McCourt

Mistake, Set, Which, Merchandise

I learned the significance of my own insignificant life.

- Frank McCourt

Insignificant, Learned, Significance

Ireland, once you live there, you're seduced by it.

- Frank McCourt

You, Once, Seduced, Ireland

The uncluttered life is the key to a good memory.

- Frank McCourt

Life, Good, Memory, Good Memory

I just wrote the book and was amazed and astounded that it became a bestseller and won the Pulitzer Prize. It still hasn't sunk in.

- Frank McCourt

Still, Became, Wrote, Sunk

Something happened when the memoirs of so-called ordinary people, like myself, suddenly hit the bestseller list.

- Frank McCourt

Myself, Like, Memoirs, Bestseller

I admire certain priests and nuns who go off on their own and do God's work on their own, who help in the ghettos, but as far as the institution of the church is concerned, I think it is despicable.

- Frank McCourt

Think, I Think, Concerned, Despicable

I'm a late bloomer.

- Frank McCourt

Late, Late Bloomer, Bloomer

A lot of people say writers start losing their powers after 60 or 65. But I look at the best-seller list and see a book by that 14-year-old gymnast, Dominique Moceanu, and I think, 'Now, what's she going to tell the world? And these 25-year-old rock stars, what are they going to tell the world?'

- Frank McCourt

Book, I Think, Gymnast, Rock Stars

Actually, my mother and Alfie came for three weeks' Christmas vacation and stayed for 21 years. I guess my mother never went back because she was lonely.

- Frank McCourt

Three, Back, Weeks, Vacation

You don't have to go fight bulls in Spain like Hemingway to write something great, or go off to war. It's right under your nose.

- Frank McCourt

Nose, Like, Spain, Bulls

If you have a class of 35 children, and they're all smiling, and there's one little bastard, and he's just staring at you as if to say 'Show me', then he's the one you think about going home on the train.

- Frank McCourt

Children, Show, About, Train

The happy childhood is hardly worth your while.

- Frank McCourt

Happy, Childhood, Your, Hardly

Sure, I went through my 'J'accuse' phase. I was so angry for so long, I could hardly have a conversation without getting into an argument. And it was only when I felt I could finally distance myself from my past that I began to write about what happened - not just to me, but to lots of young people. I think my story is a cautionary tale.

- Frank McCourt

Through, Argument, I Think, Hardly

Way back in my mid-20s, I started making notes. I would just jot things down: lists of street names, songs, peculiar turns of speech, jokes, whatever.

- Frank McCourt

Back, Making, Notes, Peculiar

Autobiography should be more stringent. It should adhere more to the standards of journalism - assuming that journalism has the truth. The memoir gives you more scope, is more poetic, and allows you to play around with your own life.

- Frank McCourt

Play, Memoir, Poetic, Adhere

Early in my teaching days, the kids asked me the meaning of a poem. I replied, 'I don't know any more than you do. I have ideas. What are your ideas?' I realized then that we're all in the same boat. What does anybody know?

- Frank McCourt

Anybody, Teaching, Replied, Meaning Of

I worked in a number of high schools in New York, and I wound up at Stuyvesant High School, which is known nationally for producing brilliant scientists and mathematicians, but I had writing classes. I thought I was teaching. They thought I was teaching, but I was learning.

- Frank McCourt

Thought, Had, Classes, Mathematicians

I've had experiences on both sides of the ocean and various classrooms and bedrooms around New York.

- Frank McCourt

New, Both Sides, Had, Bedrooms

He came to the States in 1963, I think with a view to making up with my mother, but that didn't work. He came for three weeks, and drank his way all over Brooklyn. And went back... I went to his funeral in Belfast.

- Frank McCourt

Back, I Think, Weeks, Making Up

If ever you are to be visited by the Holy Ghost, you should make certain you're sitting beside a fireman.

- Frank McCourt

Holy, Holy Ghost, Ever, Beside

I didn't have to struggle at all to get an agent and a publisher. Everything fell into my lap.

- Frank McCourt

Get, Fell, Agent, Struggle

There was a kind of madness in the country. Eamon De Valera, the prime minister, had this vision of an Ireland where we'd all be in some kind of native costume - which doesn't exist - and we'd be dancing at the crossroads, babbling away in Gaelic, going to Mass, everyone virginal and pure.

- Frank McCourt

Dancing, Country, Some, Costume

When I was a kid, I was a pretty good runner, and there was nothing like winning a race.

- Frank McCourt

Winning, Race, Pretty, Runner

I've been writing in notebooks for 40 years or so.

- Frank McCourt

Writing, Years, Been, Notebooks

And, of course, they've always condemned dancing. You know, you might touch a member of the opposite sex. And you might get excited and you might do something natural.

- Frank McCourt

Dancing, Natural, Always, Opposite Sex

We were supposed to stay over in Boston, but when Scribners heard I'd won the Pulitzer, they told me to get on a plane - that Katie Couric wanted my body. And when Katie Couric wants your body, you get moving right away.

- Frank McCourt

Boston, Away, Plane, Right Away

If somebody wants me to speak in, say, Chicago, a limousine picks me up at the door to brings me to the airport. I fly at the front of the plane, and a limousine meets me at the other end to take me to a grand hotel, and usually an envelope is left for me with a per diem, maybe $150-a-day walking around money, and then I go home.

- Frank McCourt

Door, Other, Plane, Envelope

I was just dreaming, and if, if I'd written the book and nobody wanted it, I would have put it in the drawer and said, 'Well, I did that.'

- Frank McCourt

Book, Dreaming, Put, Drawer

They tell me I'm on 'Politically Incorrect' with Ollie North. That should be a lot of fun.

- Frank McCourt

Tell, Incorrect, Lot, Politically Incorrect

On the last day of my teaching career, I was sitting in my apartment, having a glass of wine, thinking I'm glad I did it, that I had been somehow useful, that I had learned something.

- Frank McCourt

Career, Glass, Been, Wine

One day a week should be set aside for field trips.

- Frank McCourt

Week, Set, Aside, Trips

I had no accomplishments except surviving. But that isn't enough in the community where I came from, because everybody was doing it. So I wasn't prepared for America, where everybody is glowing with good teeth and good clothes and food.

- Frank McCourt

Doing, Prepared, Everybody, Accomplishments

There were a number of houses. When we first arrived in Limerick, it was a one-room affair with most of it taken up with a bed.

- Frank McCourt

Bed, Number, Most, Affair

When I look back on my childhood, I wonder how I survived at all.

- Frank McCourt

Childhood, Back, How, I Wonder

When I was a teacher, I'd walk into the classroom. I stood at the board. I was the man. I directed operations. I was an intellectual and artistic and moral traffic cop, and I - and I would direct the class, most of the time.

- Frank McCourt

Cop, Directed, Direct, Board

We don't look at teachers as scholars the way they do in Europe. In Spain you're called a professor if you're a high school teacher, and they pay teachers - they pay teachers in Europe.

- Frank McCourt

Look, Pay, Spain, Scholars

I wanted to avoid all that literary stuff. I didn't want the self pity of 'The Portrait,' all the moaning and the whingeing. I'm not knocking Joyce: we all owe him a debt. He's the one who made so much possible.

- Frank McCourt

Pity, Literary, Moaning, Knocking

I can't go too much into my domestic life because there are ex-wives ready to do me in.

- Frank McCourt

Life, Too Much, Go, Ex-Wives

First of all there is always that artistic challenge of creating something. Or the particular experience to take slum life in that period and make something out of it in the form of a book. And then I felt some kind of responsibility to my family.

- Frank McCourt

Book, Some, Slum, First Of All

I'm not one of those James Joyce intellectuals who can stand back and look at the whole edifice... It was a slow process for me to just crawl out of it, like a snake leaving his skin behind.

- Frank McCourt

Snake, Behind, James, Crawl

It's like a series of waves hitting you. First, getting excerpted in the 'New Yorker' last summer, then getting published, then the best-seller list, the award, the movie deal, now this, a Pulitzer.

- Frank McCourt

Deal, Movie, Best-Seller, Pulitzer

I would dream of going up to the 'New York Times' and asking them if I could please be a copy boy or let me scrub the toilets or something like that. But I couldn't rise to those heights.

- Frank McCourt

Asking, Boy, Times, New York Times

You feel a sense of urgency, especially at my advanced age, when you're staring into the grave.

- Frank McCourt

Urgency, Grave, Advanced, Staring

Worse than the ordinary, miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.

- Frank McCourt

Childhood, Miserable, Than, Catholic

For some reason, I had a responsibility to my family and the people who lived around me. I felt that I had to convey their dignity - the way they dealt with adversity and poverty - and their good humor.

- Frank McCourt

Adversity, Reason, Some, Convey

There's nothing in the world like getting up in front of a high-school classroom in New York City. They won't give you a break if you don't hold them. There's no escape.

- Frank McCourt

New, Give, Like, Escape

I don't know anything about a stock!

- Frank McCourt

Know, Anything, About, Stock

We had nothing, no television, no radio, nothing to get in the way. We read by the streetlight at the top of the lane, and we acted out the stories.

- Frank McCourt

Television, Stories, Read, Acted

I just have to proceed as usual. No matter what happens, nothing helps with the writing of the next book.

- Frank McCourt

Next, Proceed, Usual, Helps

For some reason, I wrote about the bed we slept in when I was a kid. It was a half-acre of misery, that bed, sagging in the middle, red hair sticking out of the mattress, the spring gone and the fleas leaping all over the place.

- Frank McCourt

Reason, Bed, Some, Slept

I was a houseman, the lowest. I was just above - in the hierarchy of jobs, I was just above the Puerto Rican dishwashers - just above, so I felt superior to them.

- Frank McCourt

Hierarchy, Puerto Rican, Puerto

When I read about Joyce, I realised that there was no eight-till-one in his life: it was 24 hours a day for him.

- Frank McCourt

Hours, Read, Realised, 24 Hours

People want real-life stories.

- Frank McCourt

People, Want, Stories, Real-Life

I'm always a great student of writers' work habits. Balzac sat at his desk dressed in a monk's robe, and he always had to have a rotten apple on his desk. The smell of the apple inspired him somehow.

- Frank McCourt

Habits, Student, Always, Rotten

I loved reading and writing, and teaching was the most exalted profession I could imagine.

- Frank McCourt

Profession, Most, Imagine, Exalted

We've had enough of the generals and movie stars. We want to hear about the ordinary people.

- Frank McCourt

Movie, Had Enough, Generals, Ordinary People

Certain citizens claimed I had disgraced the fair name of the city of Limerick, that I had attacked the church, that I had despoiled my mother's name, and that if I returned to Limerick, I would surely be found hanging from a lamppost.

- Frank McCourt

City, Claimed, Surely, Hanging

Happiness is hard to recall. Its just a glow.

- Frank McCourt

Happiness, Hard, Recall, Glow

My sister died in Brooklyn.

- Frank McCourt

Brooklyn, Died, Sister

I hated school in Ireland.

- Frank McCourt

School, Ireland, Hated

I never expected to write a book about a slum in Ireland that was going to catapult me, as they say, into some kind of - onto the best seller list.

- Frank McCourt

Some, Seller, Slum, Ireland

St. Patrick, bringing the religion to Ireland, this is what we should celebrate.

- Frank McCourt

Celebrate, Should, Bringing, Ireland

People who think I have insulted Ireland or Limerick or my family have not read the book!

- Frank McCourt

Think, Read, Insulted, Ireland

Even when I went to the Lion's Head in the Village, where all you journalists would hang out, I was always peripheral. I was never really part of anything except the classroom. That's where I belonged.

- Frank McCourt

Always, Hang, Peripheral, Village

You're beginning to hear the tale of the common man and woman rather than the traditional memoir about the generals who just finished the war or the politicians who just rendered glorious service to the country.

- Frank McCourt

Woman, Country, Memoir, Common Man

I had to get rid of any idea of hell or any idea of the afterlife. That's what held me, kept me down. So now I just have nothing but contempt for the institution of the church.

- Frank McCourt

Nothing, Idea, Held, Institution

I was unloading sides of beef down on the docks when I decided enough was enough. By then, I'd done a lot of reading on my own, so I persuaded New York University to enroll me.

- Frank McCourt

Own, University, Beef, Sides

It gives me a very keen satisfaction that, after listening to my blather all those years, former students are now seeing that I wrote a book, that I did have it in me.

- Frank McCourt

Listening, Very, Wrote, Former

Teachers have a million stories, but nobody consults them.

- Frank McCourt

Teachers, Stories, Them, Million

My father and mother should have stayed in New York, where they met and married and where I was born.

- Frank McCourt

Father, New, I Was Born, Met

I certainly couldn't have written 'Angela's Ashes' when my mother was alive, because she would have been ashamed.

- Frank McCourt

Been, Ashamed, Certainly, Ashes

Scatter my ashes on the Shannon.

- Frank McCourt

Scatter, Ashes

You look at passers-by in Rome and think, 'Do they know what they have here?' You can say the same about Philadelphia. Do people know what went on here?

- Frank McCourt

Think, Rome, Here, Philadelphia

I don't see myself as either Irish or American, I'm a New Yorker.

- Frank McCourt

New, See, Either, Yorker

A funeral was a great form of entertainment. A wake was a great form of entertainment.

- Frank McCourt

Entertainment, Wake, Form, Funeral

Mam was always saying we had a simple diet: tea and bread, bread and tea, a liquid and a solid, a balanced diet - what more do you need? Nobody got fat.

- Frank McCourt

Bread, Always, Solid, Balanced Diet

When I came to America, I dreamed bigger dreams.

- Frank McCourt

Bigger, Dreamed, Came, I Came

When I got out of the army, I had the G.I. Bill. Since I had no high school education or anything like that, I came to NYU, and they took a chance on me and let me in.

- Frank McCourt

Education, Chance, Took, I Came

I was ashamed of it, of the poverty I came from.

- Frank McCourt

Poverty, Ashamed, Came, I Came

The part of Limerick we lived in is Georgian, you know, those Georgian houses. You see them in pictures of Dublin.

- Frank McCourt

See, Dublin, Part, Georgian

I think that's why you see so many Americans in Dublin look so sad: they are looking for the door through which they can begin to understand this place. I tell them, 'Go to the races.' I think it's the best place to start understanding the Irish.

- Frank McCourt

Door, Through, I Think, Begin

If I had millions and millions and millions of dollars, I'd leave a large portion to the 42nd Street library. That's why - that was my hangout, the reading rooms, the North and South reading rooms. I'd go there, and my God, I couldn't believe I had access to all of these books. That was my university.

- Frank McCourt

Access, Rooms, South, Millions

O'Casey was writing about people in the streets and his mother and dying babies and poverty. So that astounded me because I thought you could only write about English matters.

- Frank McCourt

Thought, Streets, Could, Astounded

I think I settled on the title before I ever wrote the book.

- Frank McCourt

Think, I Think, Ever, Title

There's so much absurdity. Poverty is so absurd.

- Frank McCourt

Poverty, Absurd, Much, Absurdity

That's what kept us going - a sense of absurdity, rather than humor.

- Frank McCourt

Humor, Going, Rather, Absurdity

In public schools, classes are bloated - it's ridiculous.

- Frank McCourt

Ridiculous, Public, Classes, Schools

At 66, you're supposed to die or get hemorrhoids.

- Frank McCourt

Die, You, Get, Supposed

Every life is a mystery. There is nobody whose life is normal and boring.

- Frank McCourt

Mystery, Boring, Normal, Nobody

We were below welfare. We begged from people on welfare. My father tried to repair our shoes with pieces of bicycle tires.

- Frank McCourt

Bicycle, Repair, Below, Pieces

I couldn't fit in the Irish community in New York. I was never one of the boys because they would talk about baseball or basketball, and I knew nothing about it.

- Frank McCourt

New, Nothing, Knew, Baseball

I became a teacher all right. I wanted to become a teacher because I had a misconception about it. I didn't know that I'd be going into - when I first became a high school teacher in New York, that I'd be going into a battle zone, and no one prepared me for that.

- Frank McCourt

Prepared, About, Became, High School

I had never attended high school, but I was fairly well read.

- Frank McCourt

Never, High, Attended, High School

My dream was to have a Library of Congress catalogue number, that's all.

- Frank McCourt

Dream, Number, Congress, Library

My childhood here... was very limited. So it was a long, long time before I actually went out to Brooklyn.

- Frank McCourt

Childhood, Here, Very, Long Time

My mother had had six children in five and a half years, and three of them died in that time.

- Frank McCourt

Six, Had, Half, Died

When I first went up to see my editor, I was with my agent, and my editor said, 'Well, what have you been doing all these years?' And my agent said, 'He's been in recovery. From his childhood.'

- Frank McCourt

Been, Editor, Agent, First

I thought everything would be different in America. It wasn't.

- Frank McCourt

Thought, Everything, Would, Be Different

I think there's something about the Irish experience - that we had to have a sense of humor or die.

- Frank McCourt

Die, Think, I Think, Irish

I knew I had to find my own way of teaching.

- Frank McCourt

Find, My Own, Knew, Teaching

Some, like Mother Teresa, are born with a gene to help the poor, and some are born with a gene to write. I was born with a gene to tell my story, and I just had to.

- Frank McCourt

Some, Like, Gene, I Was Born

Kids all want to look cool, as if knowledge is a great burden, but they're always looking around. They remember.

- Frank McCourt

Cool, Want, Always, Burden

I think there are two cities in the world - New York and Rome.

- Frank McCourt

Think, New, Rome, Cities

I'm more interested in writing than in performing.

- Frank McCourt

Writing, More, Than, Performing

I couldn't even pick up the newspaper without saying, 'This is a fine piece of writing. I wish to hell I could write like this.'

- Frank McCourt

Newspaper, I Wish, Like, Piece

I never really fit in anywhere.

- Frank McCourt

Never, Anywhere, Really, Fit

The main thing I am interested in is my experience as a teacher.

- Frank McCourt

Teacher, I Am, Main, Main Thing

The sky is the limit. You never have the same experience twice.

- Frank McCourt

Experience, Sky, Never, Limit

We never really had any kind of a Christmas. This is one part where my memory fails me completely.

- Frank McCourt

Memory, Kind, Part, Fails

The day I write my last word will be the day that I feel free.

- Frank McCourt

Will, Feel, Last, I Write

If I have a cause, it's the cause of the teacher.

- Frank McCourt

Cause, Teacher

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