An Evening With Frank McCourt

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a talk and book signing with Frank McCourt. The Bookstall in Winnetka hosted Mr. McCourt, who has a new Christmas book called Angela and the Baby Jesus, and Lauren Long, the illustrator of the book. The book is based on a story McCourt's mother told him when he was 6, about when she was 6 years old and took the baby Jesus from the church nativity scene to keep him from getting cold. There are actually two editions of the book-both with the same text, but a larger size for children. The smaller size, which is illustrated by Long, has some lovely drawings and really captures the feeling of 1914 Limerick. It's a cute story, and McCourt is a great storyteller.

I've said before that I could listen to Frank McCourt talk all day. He has a wonderful Irish brogue that just makes anything he says sound great. I listened to all of his memoirs on CD, and it was wonderful to hear him speak in person. He is actually a very funny guy, and had the audience cracking up the whole evening. He talked about how strange kids can be sometimes and joked that they should be shipped out of the country after third grade and not allowed back until 19 (a thought I think many of us have from time to time). He also implored the audience "don't just buy one book. Don't be stingy!" He informed us that some of the proceeds for Angela and the Baby Jesus will be donated to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which if you remember from Angela's Ashes, helped the McCourt family survive by giving them food and clothes when they were poor. He reported that he is meeting with the screenwriter for a movie adaptation of Teacher Man. He said that he will have a say in this script, unlike in the movie of Angela's Ashes, because he wants to be sure that teachers are portrayed well. When someone in the audience asked if he will be writing any more memoirs, he declared that he is sick of himself and won't be doing any more memoirs. Fans will be happy to know that he is currently working on a novel that sounds like it will be set in Brooklyn. But according to him, "God only knows" when it will be published, so fans will have to be patient.