It was in her wonderful interview with a public radio station, KCRW. Here's the link: http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/bw/bw060119annie_proulx
I thought the word fit Jack, and Jake in the role, so perfectly. And the scene where Lureen sees Jack at the window and sees him as quicksilver, well, that was the first clear image/metaphor I had of the story, and I was writing toward it for a very long time.
Thank you for the pictures and your generous comments. The details come from a lot of research (including going to rodeos and taking riding lessons - oh, the sacrifices we fic writers have to make )
I just listened to this interview for the first time today. It was really interesting! I wrote down what she said.
"Jake made his own Jack Twist and a very excellent Jack Twist it is, too." She goes on to describe Jake's Jack Twist as complex, quicksilver, beautiful, hungry, bitterly disappointed again and again, love, electricity, and inchoate longing.
I just read ch. 6 of Quicksilver. The description of Jack as quicksilver and how Lureen sees him at the window I think is poetic and true.
Hope ch. 7 is coming along for you. - Leslie K.