Thursday, March 04, 2010

Hands on: Jake MacDonald



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...otherwise known as the BEST AUTOGRAPH EVER!

So I've been neglecting the Hands On Project, which is basically a series of portraits of writers via pictures of their hands.

Given that Jake MacDonald is teaching a course at Aqua this week and next and that I'm a big fan of both Jake and convenience, given this topsy-turvy week, month, season...I decided that he might just be my next subject.

Jake is twinkly. By which I mean that he is a professional, answering correspondence quickly and completely. He doesn't miss a trick.

But he also has a quick wit, which is nowhere more evident than in the pose he selected for his portrait, a second after having the conceit explained to him.

His hands, which are really the point of the exercise, are interesting. Lean, a little rough. Basically, the well-used tools that they are.

He didn't say a single thing about his hands, of course, but he let me keep the note.

And laughed as he walked away...in a twinkly way.

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Over the last twenty-five years Jake MacDonald has produced ten books of both fiction and non-fiction and hundreds of articles for many of North America’s leading newspapers and magazines. Six of his books have been optioned or developed by film producers and some were recognized with national awards. The memoir Houseboat Chronicles, for example, won three awards across Canada, including the Writers Trust of Canada prize for best non-fiction book 2002, and about twenty-five of his magazine stories have won writing awards. MacDonald divides his time between Winnipeg and Toronto and a rustic retreat in Minaki, Ontario.

1 comment:

Mike Deal said...

I really like this photo! This is a great project... wish I was doing it.