Ann-Marie MacDonald
Encyclopedia
Ann-Marie MacDonald is a Canadian
playwright
, novelist, actor
and broadcast journalist who lives in Toronto
, Ontario
. The daughter of a member of Canada's military, she was born at an air force base
near Baden-Baden
, West Germany
.
MacDonald won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for her first novel, Fall on Your Knees
, which was also named to Oprah Winfrey
's Book Club.
She received the Governor General's Award for Literary Merit, the Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award
and the Canadian Author's Association Award for her play, Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)
.
She also appeared in the films I've Heard the Mermaids Singing
and Better Than Chocolate
, among others.
Her 2003
novel, The Way the Crow Flies
, was partly inspired by the Steven Truscott
case.
She also hosted the CBC
Documentary
series Life and Times from 1996 to 2007, and currently hosts CBC's flagship documentary program, Doc Zone
.
MacDonald's wife is playwright and theatre director Alisa Palmer
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, novelist, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and broadcast journalist who lives in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. The daughter of a member of Canada's military, she was born at an air force base
CFB Baden-Soellingen
Canadian Forces Base Baden-Soellingen or CFB Baden-Soellingen was a Canadian Forces base located near the farming community of Söllingen, part of the municipality of Rheinmünster in the West German state of Baden-Württemberg...
near Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden is a spa town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the western foothills of the Black Forest, on the banks of the Oos River, in the region of Karlsruhe...
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
.
MacDonald won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for her first novel, Fall on Your Knees
Fall on Your Knees
Fall on Your Knees is a novel by Canadian playwright, actor and novelist Ann-Marie MacDonald. The novel takes place in late 19th and early 20th centuries and chronicles four generations of the complex Piper Family. It is a story of "inescapable family bonds, terrible secrets, and of miracles"...
, which was also named to Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
's Book Club.
She received the Governor General's Award for Literary Merit, the Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award
Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award
The Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Awards were a Canadian literary award, given to Canadian plays produced by any professional Canadian theatre company, and having at least ten performances in the Toronto area....
and the Canadian Author's Association Award for her play, Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)
Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)
Goodnight Desdemona is a 1988 comedic play by Ann-Marie MacDonald in which Constance Ledbelly, a young English literature professor from Queen's University, goes on a subconscious journey of self-discovery....
.
She also appeared in the films I've Heard the Mermaids Singing
I've Heard the Mermaids Singing
I've Heard the Mermaids Singing is a 1987 theatrical-release feature film, directed by Patricia Rozema. The title is taken from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot.-Plot:...
and Better Than Chocolate
Better Than Chocolate
Better Than Chocolate is a 1999 Canadian romantic comedy movie shot in Vancouver directed by Anne Wheeler.-Plot:Maggie has recently moved out on her own, and has started a relationship with another woman, Kim...
, among others.
Her 2003
2003 in literature
The year 2003 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Peter Ackroyd - The Clerkenwell Tales*Atsuko Asano - No...
novel, The Way the Crow Flies
The Way the Crow Flies
The Way the Crow Flies is a novel by Canadian writer Ann-Marie MacDonald. It was first published by Knopf Canada in 2003.The plot of the novel revolves around a fictionalized version of the Steven Truscott case and is set for the most part at a real Royal Canadian Air Force station: RCAF Station...
, was partly inspired by the Steven Truscott
Steven Truscott
Steven Murray Truscott is a Canadian man who was sentenced to death in 1959, when he was a 14-year old student, for the murder of classmate Lynne Harper...
case.
She also hosted the CBC
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
Documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
series Life and Times from 1996 to 2007, and currently hosts CBC's flagship documentary program, Doc Zone
Doc Zone
Doc Zone is the flagship documentary series of CBC Television. Its documentaries stem from the front lines of the world’s news, and its subject matter ranges across the events, trends and ideas that are shaping our lives. The best Canadian directors and cinematographers offer strong, narrative...
.
MacDonald's wife is playwright and theatre director Alisa Palmer
Alisa Palmer
Alisa Palmer is a Canadian theatre director and playwright.Born and raised in New Brunswick, Canada, Alisa Palmer completed a degree in history at McGill University...
.
Works
- Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)Goodnight Desdemona is a 1988 comedic play by Ann-Marie MacDonald in which Constance Ledbelly, a young English literature professor from Queen's University, goes on a subconscious journey of self-discovery....
- 1988 play - Where the Spirit LivesWhere the Spirit LivesWhere the Spirit Lives is a drama film about Aboriginal children in Canada being taken from their tribes to attend residential schools for assimilation into majority culture. Written by Keith Ross Leckie and directed by Bruce Pittman, it aired on CBC Television in 1989.The film starred Michelle St...
(1989) - The Arab's MouthThe Arab's MouthThe Arab's Mouth is a 1990 play by Ann-Marie MacDonald which she later revised to create Belle Moral, at which point most of the Arabic references were cut. The title refers to a shape found on a stone by the central character—a circle or zero...
- 1990 (play) - Nigredo HotelNigredo HotelNigredo Hotel is a chamber opera by librettist Ann-Marie MacDonald and composer Nic Gotham. The dark comedy is about a doctor who arrives at a hotel after he may or may not have killed someone on the highway. The opera includes only two characters, the doctor and the concierge of the hotel, who...
- 1992 (opera libretto) - The Attic, the Pearls and Three Fine GirlsThe Attic, the Pearls and Three Fine GirlsThe Attic, the Pearls and Three Fine Girls is a comedy collectively written by Martha Ross, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Jennifer Brewin, Alisa Palmer and Leah Cherniak...
- 1995 (play) - Fall on Your KneesFall on Your KneesFall on Your Knees is a novel by Canadian playwright, actor and novelist Ann-Marie MacDonald. The novel takes place in late 19th and early 20th centuries and chronicles four generations of the complex Piper Family. It is a story of "inescapable family bonds, terrible secrets, and of miracles"...
- 1996 (novel) - Anything That Moves - 2000 (book and lyrics for musical)
- The Way the Crow FliesThe Way the Crow FliesThe Way the Crow Flies is a novel by Canadian writer Ann-Marie MacDonald. It was first published by Knopf Canada in 2003.The plot of the novel revolves around a fictionalized version of the Steven Truscott case and is set for the most part at a real Royal Canadian Air Force station: RCAF Station...
- 2003 (novel, shortlisted for the Giller Prize) - Belle MoralBelle MoralBelle Moral is a play by Ann-Marie MacDonald which premiered at the Shaw Festival in 2005.A substantial reworking of MacDonald's earlier play, The Arab's Mouth, Belle Moral is a gothic comedy set in Scotland in 1899...
- 2004 (play)
External links
- Ann-Marie MacDonald's entry in The Canadian EncyclopediaThe Canadian EncyclopediaThe Canadian Encyclopedia is a source of information on Canada. It is available online, at no cost. The Canadian Encyclopedia is available in both English and French and includes some 14,000 articles in each language on a wide variety of subjects including history, popular culture, events, people,...