Verna MacLean, author of "Farewell Rhilochan"

 

Verna MacLean discovered Scotland when she was five years old. It happened in her Sunday School class when she picked up an old bible and found maps of "The Known World," and The Holy Land. The prettiest country was colored in buttercup yellow, and since she had learned to read, she sounded out the letters of this appealing country: S-c-o-t-l-a-n-d: Scotland. It was many years before she was finally able to visit Scotland, but once there she fell in love with the country and its people.

As a consequence, an intended book about her children's Scottish heritage (her husband's family was from the Isle of Skye) quickly changed into something more serious: she learned about the Highland Clearances, a little known part of Scottish history, at least in the United States. The suffering and despair of the ordinary Highland folk is eloquently described in the novel.

Verna MacLean was born and grew up in Washington State. She graduated from the University of Washington and later worked in its School of International Studies for many years. She did much of her research at the university's Suzzallo Library, adding her own primary research in the land and its people.

Kenneth MacLean, Ph.D., author of "The Mind Keepers"

 

Dr. Kenneth MacLean, Ph.D., is a man for all seasons: a dedicated educator, journalist, editor, poet, soldier, essayist, and pioneer in the study of microwave electronics and its potential impact to society.

Born in Berkeley, California, his Scotch and Irish parents made their home in Seattle, Washington. After serving in the armed forces in Korea, Dr. MacLean graduated the University of Washington with a B.A. in English and began a three-year career as a newspaper reporter and editor, and received his M.A. from the University of Washington. He joined Central Washington University Faculty and continued doctoral studies at Rutgers University, receiving his doctorate from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1984. During his tenure as a professor of American Literature and Creative Writing at Seattle University, Dr. MacLean conducted the University’s literary magazine: Fragments. His literary works include critical reviews, essays in literature, and two books of poetry: The Long Way Home and Blue Heron’s Sky. He is now retired as Emeritus Professor of English and lives with his wife, Verna, in Seattle, Washington, near their children and grandchildren. The Mind Keepers is a reflection of Dr. MacLean’s adventurous spirit, study and personal experiences.