Raasay
The poet Sorley MacLean was born in Osgaig, a small crofting community on the west coast of the island; perhaps his most famous poem is about "Hallaig", an abandoned community on the east coast. MacLean's writings often combine an ancient traditional awareness, with a modernist political outlook, in which Raasay, and the areas adjacent to it are frequently referenced. But while MacLean's work dwells on the brutality of war, of the Highland Clearances and modern exploitation, he also writes about nature. Thus, although the Clearances leave an empty landscape populated only by the ghosts of those evicted or forced to emigrate, "Time, the deer, is in the Wood of Hallaig".
Vince MacLean
He was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia on Cape Breton Island, the son of Joseph W. MacLean and Marguerite MacNeil. MacLean grew up and lives in Sydney. He was educated at Sydney Academy, St. Francis Xavier University, the University of New Brunswick and Saint Mary's University. He served in the Canadian Officers' Training Corps at CFB Shilo in Manitoba from 1964 to 1966. In 1968, he married Natalie Furdas. He was a high school teacher at Sydney Academy before being elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in 1974.