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FRANK MCCOURT RECALLS HIS LIFE AS A "TEACHER
MAN"
The Aspen Writers' Foundation Presents a Class
Act at Winter Words
"Moving out of the poor Irish lanes of his childhood
and now into the high school classrooms of New York City,
Frank McCourt exchanges one garden of suffering for another,
but always with a comic eye, a sympathetic heart and the
perfect timing of a master storyteller.
Teacher Man is a cry from the barricades
of public education and should be required reading
not just for all teachers but for anyone who ever set
foot in a high school."
— Billy Collins
(January 17, 2006) Aspen, CO … The Aspen Writers'
Foundation presents Frank McCourt, the second of six authors
slated to appear this season as part of the literary organization's
2006 Winter Words author reading series. Frank McCourt's
reading and talk will take place Saturday, January 28th
at 5:30 pm at the Wheeler Opera House.
Long before he gained fame as the author of the Pulitzer
Prize-winning memoir Angela's Ashes, his phenomenally
successful tale of growing up poor in Limerick, Ireland,
Frank McCourt was a high school teacher in New York City.
His time in the classroom (30 years; 12,000 students;
and 33,000 lessons later) provided fodder for his latest
#1 bestseller, Teacher Man.
"I know and you know and everybody knows teachers
get very little attention in the USA. That any movie you
see about a teacher is unrealistic," he said. "I've
never written a novel that dealt with the inside life
of a teacher, the teacher in the classroom. And I wanted
to get into the classroom and show what it's like from
day to day, from minute to minute."
Over the course of Teacher Man's 272 pages,
with his trademark irreverence and honesty, McCourt records
the trials, triumphs, and surprises he faced each day
in front of 35 unruly, hormonally charged or indifferent
adolescents. He details the unconventional methods —
including a homework assignment to write "An Excuse
Note from Adam or Eve to God" — that created
a lasting impact on them.
In doing so, McCourt tells the story of how teaching
saved him. There, in the classroom, he found his voice
and developed his ability to tell a great story as he
worked to gain the attention and respect of his students.
McCourt also tells the story of teachers everywhere.
He celebrates the uncelebrated, heralding educators as
supremely important and supremely undervalued. He continues
to dedicate his time and voice to the cause of public
education in America, frequently meeting with teachers
and students of schools, as he will at Aspen High School
the day before his public appearance.
DETAILS
Frank McCourt will give a reading and talk, followed by
a short Q&A session and a book signing. Doors open
at 5 pm. Town Center Booksellers, the official bookseller
of Winter Words 2006, will have a selection of books available
for purchase.
TICKETS
Tickets are $20 each/$15 for students and educators with
school ID. They can be purchased at the Wheeler Opera
House (970.920.5770), now at www.aspenwriters.org,
and on a space-available basis at the door. Discounted
tickets for members, educators and students are available
only through the Aspen Writers' Foundation.
ASPEN WRITERS' FOUNDATION
Now celebrating its 30th anniversary, the Aspen Writers’
Foundation, Colorado's oldest nonprofit literary organization,
has been bringing readers and writers together since 1976.
The organization’s mission is to provide programs
that encourage writers in their craft and readers in their
appreciation of good literature. More information is available
from the Aspen Writers' Foundation at 970.925.3122 and
www.aspenwriters.org.
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