Seyburn grew up in Detroit. She earned a BS and an MS in Journalism from Northwestern University, an MFA in Poetry from the University of California, Irvine, and a Ph.D. in Poetry and Literature from the University of Houston. She is a Professor at California State University, Long Beach. She lives in California with her husband, Eric Little. She does a great deal of yoga, plays mah jongg, loves theater and film, and has no shortage of strong opinions.