Frank McCourt Message Board
posts on 10/11/2006 12:13:16 PM
I enjoy reading the comments on this site and it's obvious to me that Mr. Anderson is merely trying to get a rise out of everyone. Don't let him hurt your feelings or dampen your enjoyment of Mr. McCourt's books. I have to chuckle at his repeated criticism of Mr. McCourt for his honesty about his sexual encounters and outrage that he chose not to hide the treatment his family received from the Catholic Church. The irony here is that the Catholic Church has been hiding things for years and is dealing with numerous, far more damaging sex scandals than Mr. McCourt could ever imagine (which, in itself, doesn't make the church all good or all bad). Let's see, to parrot Mr. Anderson at this point I should say, "So you think it's okay for the Catholic Church to hide the illegal activities of its officials and priests who participate in sex with young boys?" A little hypocrisy here, perhaps.
posts on 10/11/2006 9:21:38 AM
Angela, truer words have never been written. Frank McCourt's life, e.g., sexual intercourse with a seriously ill "girl" and sexual intercourse with a married woman whose husband is on a hunting trip with friends requires a "washing!" Also, is this mediocre writing fair game to attack the Roman Catholic Church? Do you applaud and support that?
posts on 10/8/2006 11:35:20 AM
I was wondering if a movie Tis was ever made, after washing Angela's Ashes would love to see more of Frank Mc Courts life
posts on 9/27/2006 7:32:06 PM
i love mr mccourts work and like angela i also cry especially when they call frank frankie. that is what my family calls me and i can not imagine being under the unbearable conditions that the mccourts live. i have read tis some time ago and can not recall what ever happened to franks father. can anyone out there answer the question?
posts on 9/27/2006 11:08:30 AM
Remarkable that a "woman" like Fiona struggled with her childhood, Catholicisim and vocation, only to find solace and justification in mediocre works of suspect literary merit. Odd, also, Fiona did not mention sexual intercourse with an ill "girl" or, in the alternative, intercourse with a woman whose husband was on a hunting trip with friends. Remember, that ended his odyssey and first book; Fiona, was that stirring to you?
posts on 9/26/2006 10:02:04 AM
I found Angela's Ashes and Teacher Man both moving and inspirational.To battle against all odds and to achieve what Frank Mccourt has achieved is a triumph of human nature. I too had a miserable childhood and grew up under the weight of guilt synonymous with catholicism. I also became a teacher and felt like a failure because I lacked the confidence to recognise my abilities. Since reading Teacher Man I have reflected on my teaching career and can see now that I did a pretty good job. P.s. DR Anderson really needs to get a life.
posts on 9/19/2006 5:12:04 PM
Which folks have criticized this mediocre writer for profit? Since so many women support this little wimp/writer, is it only a feminine thing? Please say it is not! Defend the matters in your post(s) about the morality of his actions, e.g, sex with an ill "girl," sex with a married woman, etc. Explain the morality of his actions as it pertains to current philosophies of education, Christian thought and "your" own personal beliefs. Do not obfuscate and ignore the evil there to sell a book!
posts on 9/18/2006 7:04:23 PM
Mccourt has struck gold with the English teachers of America. Maybe his work is not worthy of a Nobel Prize, but it certainly has created a large window into the world of teaching. All who profess to learning about education in American would find Mccourt's books, Tis and Teacher Man most informative as well as entertaining. To distort his motives as some have done, is unfortunate.
posts on 9/18/2006 6:23:56 PM
hello i just finished reading frank mccourts teacher man i love his book i loved angelas ashes because my name is angela. i cryed when i saw the movie for the first time i love his books i wish he had more books out writtin by him
posts on 6/11/2006 1:34:51 AM
Being in the "minority" is not that unusual; in fact, we are ubiquitous. Some, you must understand, resent those who engage in marriage infidelity, and then write about it for profit; moreover, having sexual intercourse with a seriously ill girl is not a particularly manly way to live. There is no envy, professional jealousy here, and freely admit I did not teach adolescents in Long Island City for so many years, but I did live in Astoria next door at the same time and was a full-time artist in NYC. Teaching is a high calling; Frank McCourt was frustrated and embittered by it, then wrote and published about it; I, like many others in the "minority", do not buy dirty laundry. His work and talent is mediocre, and he has no "friends" in Ireland because of what, and how, he wrote. His fans are many, particuarly Americans, but they, and his work, will all fade, yet the classics, the truly great, will always be there, Paulette, e.g. Hugo, Chesterton, G B Shaw, Undset, Markham and Catton. This rich, insignificant twisted little man is but a fly speck on the window of life. I love the memory of my father and mother, and I understand, but do not share his decision to write about their faults; he proved nothing to the "minority."
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