Betsy Littrell, M.F.A.

Adjunct Professor of Composition

Betsy Littrell is a poet and writing instructor who found her passion in teaching later in life. She is the author of the full-length poetry collection This Woman is Haunted and the chapbook Dragon in my Purse, and her poems have been published in many journals. 

She is also a proud and enthusiastic soccer mom to four wonderful boys and is a superstitious sports fan, cheering for Liverpool soccer and the Boston Red Sox.

Education

  • M.F.A., Creative Writing, Poetry Emphasis, San Diego State University
  • B.A., Journalism, University of South Carolina, Columbia

Courses Taught

  • College Composition: Writing & Research, WRI 1010

Experience in Field

  • Instructor, English Department, San Diego State University
  • Instructional Student Assistant, English Department, San Diego State University
  • Rhetoric and Writing Studies Fellow, Rhetoric and Writing Studies Department, San Diego State University
  • Graduate Assistant- Lower Division Writing Committee, Rhetoric and Writing Studies Department, San Diego State University
  • Reader, The Los Angeles Review
  • Volunteer poetry instructor, Poetic Youth
  • Journalist, KGTV, San Diego
  • Editorial Assistant, Poetry International, San Diego State University
  • Volunteer, Everyone a Reader
  • Newspaper Reporter, Skagit Valley Herald, Mount Vernon, WA

Dissertations, Presentations, and Publications

PUBLICATIONS

  • Dragon in My Purse. Finishing Line Press. 2021.
  • This Woman is Haunted. Atmosphere Press. 2020.
  • “Backwash.” Broad River Review. 2020, p. 132.
  • “Swallow.” Hummingbird. 2020, p. 9.
  • “Memory By Scent.” Swimming With Elephants. 7 June 2020.
  • “In Line at Trader Joe’s” San Diego Poetry Annual. 1 March 2020, p. 37.
  • “Unbending.” Swimming With Elephants. 7 Feb. 2020.
  • “For Some Reason.” Little Patuxent Review, no. 27, 19 Jan. 2020, p. 113.
  • “Violation Notice.” Unlost, 30 July 2019, http://unlostjournal.com/betsy-littrell/.
  • “Don't Send Me Flowers.” Adanna, no. 9, 2019, pp. 43–44.
  • “For My Brother.” The Write Launch, 25 Feb. 2019,
  • “Elegy to the Queen of Hearts.” The Write Launch, 25 Feb. 2019,
  • “3 Otis Street.” The Write Launch, 25 Feb. 2019,
  • “On a Field, Sable, the Letter A, Gules.” The Road Not Taken, 2019,
  • “Elegy to the Queen of Hearts.” The Road Not Taken, 2019,
  • “Interview with Ellen Doré Watson.” Poetry International Online, Poetry
  • “Lauren.” Prometheus Dreaming, 2019,
  • “Morning Tea.” Poached Hare, 2019, https://www.poachedhare.com/betsy-litrell.
  • “March 19, 2003.” Literary Mama, 19 June 2019,

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