Prof. Betsy Boyd: 'Writing Fiction Brought It All Together for Me'
December 27, 2022
Contact: Office of Advancement and External Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
Prof. Betsy Boyd, director of The University of Baltimore's MFA in Creative Writing and Publishing Arts, tells VoyageBaltimore magazine that she came to writing and teaching fiction as the best expression of her love for people and the "beautiful weirdness" of life.
Boyd, whose fiction and non-fiction have been published in journals and collections across the country, is in the midst of completing her first novel. She tells the magazine that she got her start at her college newspaper, writing feature stories about people and things that might escape another writer's vision.
"Our newspaper editor began keeping a 'Betsy folder,' where he stored quirky ideas, the names of memorable locals, people-centric updates, 'human interest' fodder," she recalls.
Eventually, after exploring screenwriting, sketch comedy, and editing the work of others, Boyd started writing short stories—"piles of them." Writing, publishing, and teaching the intricacies of writing have been her life ever since.
"Fiction brought it all together for me, I think," she says. "It is still the place where I can play out character with luxurious patience, where I can be lots of characters at once, where I can hear myself think and discover what I love (and hate) about humanity, history, the world in all its beautiful weirdness."
Read the feature on Prof. Boyd in VoyageBaltimore.
Learn more about UBalt's MFA in Creative Writing and Publishing Arts.