Scatter my ashes on the Shannon. Frank McCourt More Quotes by Frank McCourt More Quotes From Frank McCourt 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 barsbusinessmistake There were positive things about the church, that is, in the European cultural sense, the architecture, the liturgy, the music, the art, such as it was, the stations of the cross in the church, the tradition, and the atmosphere of awe and mystery in the mass. The atmosphere of miracle, one of mainly mystery, that's what fascinates me. Frank McCourt atmospheremiracleart I've been writing in notebooks for 40 years or so. Frank McCourt notebookwritingyears I just have to proceed as usual. No matter what happens, nothing helps with the writing of the next book. Frank McCourt usualwritingbook Bless me, Father, for I have sinned, it's been a minute since my last confession. Frank McCourt moonstrucklastsfather I am not living the American Dream; I am living the American fantasy. Frank McCourt american-dreamfantasydream There's nothing sillier in the world than a teacher telling you don't do it after you already did it. Frank McCourt teacherworld Oh, God above, if heaven has a taste it must be an egg with butter and salt, and after the egg is there anything in the world lovelier than fresh warm bread and a mug of sweet golden tea? Frank McCourt eggssweetheaven My childhood here... was very limited. So it was a long, long time before I actually went out to Brooklyn. Frank McCourt childhoodfatherhoodlong 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 dancingoppositessex When I act tough they listen politely till the spasm passes. They know. Frank McCourt toughknows Before the famine, which was in the 1840s, that was an emotional turning point... There are various documents showing how the Elizabethan English, in particular, were shocked by Irish displays of affection, by the way women acted toward strangers, walking up and putting their arms around them and kissing them right full on the mouth. Frank McCourt kissingemotionalmouths Teacher my arse. I'd be better off on the docks and the warehouses, lifting, hauling, cursing, eating hero sandwiches, drinking beer, chasing waterfront floozies. At least I'd be with my own kind, my own class of people, not getting above meself, acushla. Frank McCourt 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 streetdownbackway One day a week should be set aside for field trips. Frank McCourt tripsdayweekone-day 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 newhigh-schoollearningschool 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 youjournalismtruthlife 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 lookthinkyoupeople If I have a cause, it's the cause of the teacher. Frank McCourt causeteacher 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 studentgreatsmellwork
