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Duke Expert Available to Comment on Life and Legacy of Frank McCourt

Marianna Torgovnick, professor of English and director of the Duke in New York program, is available to comment on the life and legacy of Irish-American teacher and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt. Torgovnick specializes in 20th century British and American literature and culture.

"McCourt was among a handful of truly great writers who begin writing late in life and surprise even themselves by the gift they have for language. Like W.G. Sebald, the writer's life often provides the fuel for the writing, which astonishes in its brilliance.

"The genre for which McCourt will be remembered most of all is without doubt memoir. ‘Angela's Ashes' benefited from a vogue in memoirs during the 1990s, but set a new standard of how memoir could be poignant and funny all at the same time.

"Despite, and perhaps because of, his immigrant roots, McCourt was a true New Yorker. It's wonderful that teaching writing inspired McCourt to try his hand and to do so well at it."