In Memoriam: Sydney Hall Blair, 1949-2016

On December 6, Sydney Blair, an associate professor of creative writing at the University of Virginia, left her class on nonfiction creative writing early, saying she was not feeling well. She died six days later. Professor Blair was 67 years old.

The daughter of a Navy family, Blair lived all over the world. She entered higher education at what is now the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. She transferred and graduated from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

After raising a family and earning a master of fine arts degree in creative writing  in 1986, she joined the faculty at the University of Virginia. She directed the creative writing program at the university from 1991 to 1995 and again from 2006 to 2009.