My superlative colleague Evelyn Gibbons alerted me to a Scranton reference in Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt's 2005 memoir Teacher Man.Teacher Man in the third in McCourt's trilogy that began with 1996's Angela's Ashes (which won the Pulitzer Prize) and continued with 1999's 'Tis.
Teacher Man follow McCourt's adventures in teaching public high school in New York City His unconventional teaching methods and imaginative assignments draws students to him in ways that change their lives.
Page 97 of the hardcover edition of Teacher Man features a story about Kevin, a student labeled as a troublemaker who no one teacher wants in their classes who, naturally, ends up in McCourt's classroom.
"His mother visits on Open School Day. She can do nothing with him, doesn't know what's wrong with him. His father ran off when Kevin was four, the bastard, and now lives in Scranton, Pennsylvania, with a woman who raises white mice for experiments."
Teacher Man is available to borrow from the Lackawanna County Library System in a variety of formats: book, large print, and audio book (tape and CD). To place a hold, click on any of the previous corresponding item type links.
Much thanks again to the eagle-eyed and devistatingly gorgeous Evelyn Gibbons for this reference.
UPDATE Monday, July 20, 2009: Sadly Mr. McCourt passed away yesterday. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.
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