Iain S. Mac a’ Phearsain was born in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1965. His father’s side has Islay roots, while his mother’s family originated in the Isle of Skye and in Mull, before immigrating to Prince Edward Island. Growing up between the prairies and PEI, he was exposed to Gaelic speakers in both places, as well as French and Ukrainian. After university in Alberta and Nova Scotia, he came to Scotland in 1996, and lectured for ten years at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. He now works at the University of Ulster.
He writes poetry and prose in Gaelic, English and French, and feels that his commitment to Gaelic implies sympathy for other minority languages and cultures. His poetry has appeared in New Writing Scotland , in Northwords and in pocketbooks anthologies such as Wish I Was Here.
In addition to writing and lecturing, he has worked for BBC Radio Gaelic, commenting on the Middle East and the Arab world.