General Information

Description

Author Frank McCourt discusses his memior "'Tis", which picks up the story of his life where his

previous book, "Angela's Ashes" leaves off.

Keywords

Frank McCourt, "'Tis", Memoir, Teaching, "Angela's Ashes, " Family, Immigrant, Korean War, GI Bill,

College, Books, Admissions, NYU, Education

Citation

MLA

"McCourt: "'Tis"." Katie Couric, correspondent. NBC Today Show. NBCUniversal Media. 20 Sep. 1999.

NBC Learn. Web. 2 December 2017

McCourt: "'Tis"https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse/?cuecard=35108

Source: NBC Today Show Resource Type: Video News ReportCreator: Katie Couric Copyright: NBCUniversal Media,

LLC.Event Date: 09/20/1999 Copyright Date: 1999Air/Publish Date: 09/20/1999 Clip Length 00:02:27

Page 1 of 3© 2008-2017 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

APA

Couric, K. (Reporter). 1999, September 20. McCourt: "'Tis". [Television series episode]. NBC Today

Show. Retrieved from https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse/?cuecard=35108

CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE

"McCourt: "'Tis"" NBC Today Show, New York, NY: NBC Universal, 09/20/1999. Accessed Sat Dec 2

2017 from NBC Learn: https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse/?cuecard=35108

Transcript

McCourt: “’Tis”

KATIE COURIC, anchor:

So, how do you follow up on a Pulitzer prize-winning, best-selling, heart-wrenching phenomenon of a

memoir called "Angela's Ashes"? Well, if you're Frank McCourt, you continue the very personal story of

a young man from Ireland making his way in New York City with a new book called "'Tis: A Memoir".

Frank McCourt, good morning. Welcome back.

Mr. FRANK McCOURT ("Author, "'Tis: A Memoir"): Thank you, Katie. Thanks a lot.

COURIC: Nice to see you. Listen, I thought about you this weekend, and I was asking myself that same

question. How do you follow up "Angela's Ashes"? And part of me said, `You don't. You rest on your

laurels, you take your Pulitzer Prize, you say `Thank you very much.'

Mr. McCOURT: I thought so. I thought that's what would happen. I thought if this book went--if

"Angela's Ashes" went anywhere, I'd go off and sit in the south of France or some back alley of Morocco

or someplace like that and rest on my laurels. But I didn't know the itch to write another book was so

strong. I wanted to show what happened to this--me, this kid, this 19-year-old in New York.

COURIC: Because it was an unfinished story.

Mr. McCOURT: It was an un...

COURIC: At the end of "Angela's Ashes," you arrive in New York.

Mr. McCOURT: Yeah. And then decide--I was getting letters from people, `What happened to you? What

happened to you? What happened to your family?' And I had to--I wanted to show, also, what it was like

to be essentially an immigrant, which is what I was, because it's an immigrant's story--a story of

bewilderment, coming into this city just when I was 19 years of age, and didn't know anybody, and had no

skills, and no education, or anything. And I had to find my way.

COURIC: And life was not easy for quite a while.

Mr. McCOURT: No, it wasn't. I had to--I stumbled around. Had all kinds of menial jobs, and scouring

toilets, and emptying ashtrays in the Biltmore Hotel. And then I was saved by the Chinese, because Mao

Zedong attacked Korea, and I was drafted. America got nervous and drafted me.

COURIC: What did the military experience though, do for you, Frank, in terms of helping you to

assimilate into this...

Page 2 of 3© 2008-2017 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Mr. McCOURT: That's what it was. The best thing about the Army was when I got out, I got the GI bill,

the Korea...

COURIC: And that enabled you to go to college?

Mr. McCOURT: That was it. That was it. Yeah, even though I had no high school diploma, I went on to

NYU. And I was very--I think was very-the gall was something that I can't even believe, that I walked in

there and they said, `Well, where did you go to high school?' I said, `I never did. Never put my foot inside

a high school.' `And you want to go to college?' And I said, `Well, I've read a lot of books.' And I think

the dean of admissions was somehow taken with that. So they admitted me on a year's probation, provided

I maintain a B average, I was allowed to matriculate and stay there.

Page 3 of 3© 2008-2017 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.