Pick & Shovel Poet: The Journeys of Pascal D'angelo

by Jim Murphy

In this inspiring biography, critically acclaimed author Jim Murphy tells the unique story of Pascal D’Angelo, who came to America in 1910 at the age of sixteen. Like so many immigrants from southern Italy and other parts of Europe, he took on the only job available to him, that of a manual laborer building roads and railways. Though his life was difficult, Pascal remained optimistic and never lost his sense of wonder at the world around him. He yearned for an outlet to express his passion, and so, remarkably, he taught himself English from newspapers and poetry books, in the process becoming a respected poet himself.

Augmented with parallel references to other immigrant stories and accompanied by moving archival photographs, this story of one man’s life and noteworthy accomplishments is also a universal story shared by all American immigrants who helped build our nation. Source notes, bibliography, index.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

162 pages, Hardcover

First published October 16, 2000

About the author

An American author of more than 35 nonfiction and fiction books for children, young adults, and general audiences, including more than 30 about American history. He won the Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 2010 for his contribution in writing for teens. Jim lives in Maplewood, New Jersey, in a hundred-year-old house with his wife Alison Blank, a children’s TV producer and children’s book author and editor, his two talented musician sons, a regal mutt, an African water frog that will live forever, and a house vast collection of books..

Reviews

[GraceAnne · Rating 5 out of 5]

There isn't a lot about the Italian American immigrant experience written for children. Jim Murphy's luminous 2001 biography of a laborer who came to this country in 1910, seeking good work, finding hard work, and always, always searching for words. The scene where he teaches himself English by pasting words on the walls of the workers' shack where he lives will break your heart.