The Arts Tonight, CBC Radio
Host: And can you tell me, Leland Mackenzie, how you and Jay McNair first met?
Leland: I was coming in from the airport and heard her voice on the radio, reading from Richdale, doing publicity for her appearance at the festival that night. And I thought, “Gawd, that woman writes like a runaway lorry.” And the work was so tough, so strong, that of course I pictured this very chunky muscular creature with short-cropped hair and hiking boots.
That night then, there was a reception prior to the reading and I was being herded about and glimpsed this nice little bit of crumpet across the room, thought I might want to chat her up. Never got close, though. So then the reading begins, and my gawd, it’s her. She’s the lorry. This wee thing —
Host: And you, Jay McNair?
Jay: Leland’s company delights me. He is never boring. Ever. To have Leland for my companion on the home stretch seems like the most incredible stroke of good luck.
Host: On the home stretch?
Jay: The latter part of life, maybe even the last third. And the delight of it is that our characters are now fully formed, we’ve each become who we were meant to be. And yet, still there’s this . . . conversation between us.
Leland: And I’m pleased to say that I am well on my way to establishing myself as a Canadian. Not only can I order a large double double, I can even peel back the little tab so that it latches securely onto the lid. I’ve learned to remove my shoes at the door, and to say, at the correct moments, “Nice drop pass,” and “Through the five-hole.”
(Laughter)
Entertainment Canada, CTV: two shot, Jay and Leland.
Interviewer (off camera): So Jay, can you tell us what it was that first drew you to Leland?
Jay: His work, of course. And the fact that he has a really really big . . . vocabulary.
Leland: (squeezes her shoulder, says in a stage whisper so that’s what we’re callin’ it these days, is it luv? then turns back to the interviewer) And, of course, what bowled me over about Jay was her nice tight little . . . paragraphs.
Freeze two shot, zoom out to interviewer at news desk, barely suppressing a smile: By all accounts, Ms. McNair, age fifty-four, does have very nice tight little paragraphs. However, the question of Mr. Mackenzie’s . . . vocabulary remains a matter of —
Hmm. Maybe not. A bit cutesy. What about this instead . . . ?