If you were to pass Alphie McCourt on the street you would think it was his brother Frank, they look that much alike. And when Alphie talks, Frank’s voice comes out. But there is a decade between Frank and Alphie, who is 68, and their life experiences are different. Now Alphie has published his own memoir, A Long Stone’s Throw. He took some time to answer a few questions for PW for this St. Patrick’s Day Web Exclusive.
PW: Where do you exactly fit in among the McCourt brothers, chronology wise?
McCourt: I’m the youngest of seven. Four survived. A few years ago someone asked me—"Were you the youngest?" I was, I said, and I still am. Mike is four years older, Malachy nine and Frank ten.
PW: How and when did you come to America?
McCourt: December 1959. I came on the Sylvania, a 20,000-ton Cunard liner. Within 10 years college students would be flying over to work for the summer in New York. I was one of the last of the ship-borne immigrants.
PW: How did you make a living?
McCourt: I spent a good many years in the restaurant and bar business. I still work three days a week. Retirement, for me, is an artificial concept. Retirement is a gated community with no children, no dogs or horses, dinner at four, and death as soon as possible.
PW: Both Malachy and Frank have written memoirs. Why did you decide to also write a memoir?
McCourt: Short answer; Self defense, Your Honor.
Long answer; I didn’t want to be but a footnote to the history of my own family.
PW: How is your memoir different from say, Angela's Ashes?
McCourt: If there is a divine, then Angela’s Ashes was divinely inspired. It is a masterpiece. My book is man-made. Besides, my brother Frank and I have led entirely different lives.
PW: How do you remember the Limerick of your childhood? Was it as bad as Frank says?
McCourt: Yes, for the first 12 years of my life. We lived in conditions that are unimaginable now and I do mean unimaginable. We were poor among poor, Catholic, more or less, among Catholics, white among whites and still, somehow, we were below and outside. My life improved when the brothers went to America and sent money back.
PW: How did you begin to write?
McCourt: I used to write bits of verse. I had a couple of pieces in the world renowned Limerick Leader, a piece in the Washington Post and then a bunch of columns in The Villager.
PW: If you could give any advice to a young writer, trying to get published, what would it be?
McCourt: This is the toughest question. Take everything seriously and take nothing seriously. And take a hike, is another thing that comes to mind. That might seem frivolous but it isn’t. Do the work, write as well as you can, and, very important, always keep your mind open to a bit of luck. Luck follows work as the seagull follows the plow.
: If you could give any advice to a young writer, what would it be?: How did you begin to write?: How do you remember the Limerick of your childhood? Was it as bad as Frank says?: How is your memoir different from say, Angela’s Ashes?
