Biography

Victoria McArtor holds a Master of Fine Arts and a Masters of Business Administration, and is a former professor at the University of Tulsa. Her poetry, prose, and travel writings have been published in over 70 literary journals and magazines, and she is listed as an inventor on three U.S. patents related to medical devices and 3D visualization technology.

McArtor’s fiction “Phantom Wave” was named a finalist in Meridian’s Short Prose Prize. The editor praised its poetic language and unsettling yet beautiful ending, noting how it lingers in the reader’s mind. “Reverse Selfie,” a stunning book of black and white photographs by internationally acclaimed photographer Matthew Phips, accompanies McArtor’s ode to Tulsa’s lush history, beautiful landmarks, and unique hallmarks. The narrator of these poems grapples with her relationship with social media and attempts to turn the camera from self to surroundings.

McArtor is the co-founder of a poetry and collaborative arts nonprofit, MUSED. The vision of MUSED is to integrate poetry into the everyday affairs of people. Curated by McArtor and her team, MUSED has hosted workshops for diverse groups, including middle and high school students, technology start-ups, bankruptcy attorneys, birthday parties, and anniversary celebrations. They also created a city-wide poetry contest where winning poems were displayed on Tulsa transportation buses.

McArtor developed the curriculum for The Reverse Selfie Project, a 6-week critical thinking and writing workshop for high school students. This project encourages students to tap into their deeper, truer selves and let go of the superficial façade they present via social media. To date, the workshop has prompted hundreds of students to put down their phones and pick up a pen.

MUSED, along with the University of Tulsa, has provided writing workshops at various mental health organizations for individuals struggling with mental wellness. The results of these workshops were published in the Journal of Poetry Therapy under the title “Evaluation of the effects of single dosage poetry workshops for inpatient adolescents and children.” This study measured poetry self-efficacy, belief in the usefulness of poetry as a coping tool, and changes in feelings of isolation and loneliness. The results suggest that adolescents and children in crisis centers and inpatient units may both enjoy and benefit from a single exposure to poetry.

Not a single workshop participant has paid for a MUSED mental wellness class, thanks to the fundraising efforts of McArtor and her team and the generosity of Tulsa’s citizens.

McArtor has held professional licenses in Life & Health Insurance, Real Estate, and Mortgages, building a large portfolio of clients across multiple industries by connecting poetry with sales. For example, in 2016, McArtor led a corporate workshop to help the Mutual of Omaha 401K sales team rewrite sales scripts using tenets of poetic theory such as imagery, metaphor, and rhythm.

Currently, McArtor is the lead creative at Victoria Copied, LLC., a creative copywriting agency based in Southern California. Victoria Copied helps companies simplify complex ideas and evoke emotion among their ideal audience. McArtor has created engaging pitch decks that have helped a medical device company raise over $22M toward its commercialization goals. Can a well-constructed sentence save lives? McArtor is on a mission to illustrate that it can.