L. Peat O'Neil
Encyclopedia
L. Peat O'Neil is a travel writer and foreign service staff member at the Office of eDiplomacy
of the U.S. Department of State. O'Neil writes content for Diplopedia
and collaborates on other social media programs.
from 1986 to 2003 as well as articles for dozens of other newspapers, magazines, websites and literary journals. Publications featuring O'Neil's essays and articles include Travel + Leisure
, Elle
, Departures, Potomac Review
, National Geographic News Toronto Star
, among others. She is a long time book reviewer and contributor to Bloomsbury Review
During nearly 20 years in the newsroom of the Washington Post, O'Neil wrote about travel, music, health, community events, religion and technology.
One essay commenting on the pervasive use of the word "guys" as a form of address in the U.S., provoked letters to the editor of the newspaper and a subsequent discussion on Voice of America
In search of adventure on the French GR 65
and Spanish footpaths of the Chemin de St-Jacques
during 2001, O'Neil walked
alone through the Pyrenees Mountains
from Hendaye
on the Atlantic to Perpignan on the Mediterranean Sea
. Pyrenees Pilgrimage, published in 2010, is an account of this journey.
O'Neil started a solo travel career in secondary school, staying in youth hostels and building a global network of travel contacts. The author's travel writing career is discussed in an interview with blogger and writer Rolf Potts
. Among other titles, O'Neil is the author of Travel Writing: See the World-Sell the Story and a co-author of Making Waves.
"Travel Writing: A Guide to Research, Writing and Selling", is used by educators in undergraduate and graduate level programs. It has been translated into Chinese, Japanese, Italian and Korean. Authors refer to O'Neil's techniques in their own books about how to be a journalist.
and also developed online curricula for non-fiction writing courses offered at Graduate School USA in Washington, DC.
Other Adjunct Prof. assignments during the 1990s include web content management, online editing and writing in professional programs at GWU, Georgetown Smithsonian Resident Associates, and Graduate School USA. O'Neil presents at conferences and moderates panels on journalism.
, Ambassador to France during the Clinton administration.
More colorful work includes: cutting and sewing sails and gear for racing yachts; hand-rolling cigars at a factory in Tampa; teaching motorcycle safety for Canada's Dept. of Transport; researching art for the Montreal Olympics sport art exhibition; pre-trial interviews of witnesses for industrial trademark infringement hearings; assisting a caterer in France; painting logos on the sides tractor-trailers; and ferrying automobiles for Avis between JFK/IAD/TPA.
When the Asbestos Compensation Committee formed in 1981 to support a bill by then United States Senator Gary Hart, primarily to represent the interests of trial attorneys and asbestos manufacturers, O'Neil consulted with the committee to advocate for former asbestos workers with long term disabling diseases which involved meetings with physicians, insurers, compensation analysts and lawmakers.
Appointed the lowest academic rank - Demonstrator - at the University of Toronto Department of Preventive Medicine & Epidemiology, during the 1970s O'Neil also managed research budgets for the Department in the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine
. She collaborated on a pioneering medical textbook, Prevention in Clinical Practice with Robert W. Morgan, M.D.
After successfully defending herself against a serial rapist in Florida, O'Neil wrote about the experience for the anthology of women's self-defense reports "Her Wits About Her" published in 1987. Continuing interest in self-defense techniques prompted O'Neil to write about Contemporary Fighting Arts and to seek training in kickbox and Japanese archery.
producing Christmas trees, eggs, honey and organic vegetables. O'Neil and family still keep bees.
O'Neil's mother taught art and art history at Sandy Spring Friends School
and during WWII worked in photo reconnaissance with the Women's Auxiliary Air Force
. A maternal aunt married Bolesaw Michal Gladych who is O'Neil's Godfather
. O'Neil's father, an architect, constructed topographic feature models used in Royal Air Force
briefings in England.
O'Neil's grandfather, Harold R. Peat
was an author and lecturer and her grandmother, Louisa Watson Small Peat
was an editor and author.
and with other artists, including Eliot O'Hara, who occasionally offered watercolor workshops in Maryland after his painting school burned. A lifelong philatelist, O'Neil is an active participant in global Mail art
ist. O'Neil participated in art collaboration projects such as Ryosuke Cohen
's Brain Cell
and G. A. Cavellini's
archive. O'Neil's art works have appeared in painting exhibitions at the National Museum of Women in the Arts
and other venues.
Office of eDiplomacy
The Office of eDiplomacy acts as an applied technology think tank for the United States Department of State. As part of the Bureau of Information Resource Management, eDiplomacy serves as a liaison between Department of State IT specialists and Department of State diplomats and other employees /...
of the U.S. Department of State. O'Neil writes content for Diplopedia
Diplopedia
Diplopedia, billed as the Encyclopedia of the United States Department of State, is a wiki running on a State internal Intranet, called "OpenNet". It houses a unique collection of information pertaining to diplomacy, international relations, and Department of State tradecraft.The wiki may be used...
and collaborates on other social media programs.
Writer
O'Neil is best known for travel articles that appeared in The Washington PostThe Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
from 1986 to 2003 as well as articles for dozens of other newspapers, magazines, websites and literary journals. Publications featuring O'Neil's essays and articles include Travel + Leisure
Travel + Leisure
Travel + Leisure is a travel magazine based in New York City, New York. Published 12 times a year, it has 4.8 million readers, according to its corporate media kit. It is put out by American Express Publishing Corporation, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Express Company led by...
, Elle
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...
, Departures, Potomac Review
Potomac Review
Potomac Review is a bi-annual American literary journal containing fiction, poetry nonfiction, and photography. Based in Rockville, Maryland, it features quality stories, poems, essays and criticism with an eye to the national and world scene but feet firmly planted in the Mid-Atlantic writing...
, National Geographic News Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
, among others. She is a long time book reviewer and contributor to Bloomsbury Review
During nearly 20 years in the newsroom of the Washington Post, O'Neil wrote about travel, music, health, community events, religion and technology.
One essay commenting on the pervasive use of the word "guys" as a form of address in the U.S., provoked letters to the editor of the newspaper and a subsequent discussion on Voice of America
In search of adventure on the French GR 65
GR 65
The GR 65 is a long-distance walking route of the Grande Randonnée network. The French name for this GR route is the Chemin de St-Jacques and the Spanish name is the Camino de Santiago: this is because the GR 65 is an important variant route of the old Christian pilgrimage to Santiago de...
and Spanish footpaths of the Chemin de St-Jacques
Way of St. James
The Way of St. James or St. James' Way is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried....
during 2001, O'Neil walked
alone through the Pyrenees Mountains
French Pyrenees
The French Pyrenees is a large mountain range on the French-Spanish border that is part of the following départements, from east to west: Pyrénées-Orientales, Aude, Ariège, Haute-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrénées, and Pyrénées-Atlantiques ....
from Hendaye
Hendaye
Hendaye is the most south-westerly town and commune in France, lying in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department and located in the traditional province Lapurdi of the French Basque Country...
on the Atlantic to Perpignan on the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. Pyrenees Pilgrimage, published in 2010, is an account of this journey.
O'Neil started a solo travel career in secondary school, staying in youth hostels and building a global network of travel contacts. The author's travel writing career is discussed in an interview with blogger and writer Rolf Potts
Rolf Potts
Rolf Potts is a travel writer whose work has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, the New York Times Magazine, Slate.com, Condé Nast Traveler, Outside, The Believer, The Guardian, National Public Radio, the Travel Channel, Salon.com and World Hum. His travel advice book Vagabonding, which has...
. Among other titles, O'Neil is the author of Travel Writing: See the World-Sell the Story and a co-author of Making Waves.
"Travel Writing: A Guide to Research, Writing and Selling", is used by educators in undergraduate and graduate level programs. It has been translated into Chinese, Japanese, Italian and Korean. Authors refer to O'Neil's techniques in their own books about how to be a journalist.
Online educator
An early adapter in online education, O'Neil began teaching writing courses online in 1997 with the University of California, Los AngelesUniversity of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
and also developed online curricula for non-fiction writing courses offered at Graduate School USA in Washington, DC.
Other Adjunct Prof. assignments during the 1990s include web content management, online editing and writing in professional programs at GWU, Georgetown Smithsonian Resident Associates, and Graduate School USA. O'Neil presents at conferences and moderates panels on journalism.
Diverse
During the 1980s she was media assistant to Pamela HarrimanPamela Harriman
Pamela Beryl Harriman , also known as Pamela Churchill Harriman, was an English-born socialite who was married and linked to important and powerful men. In later life, she became a political activist for the United States Democratic Party and a diplomat...
, Ambassador to France during the Clinton administration.
More colorful work includes: cutting and sewing sails and gear for racing yachts; hand-rolling cigars at a factory in Tampa; teaching motorcycle safety for Canada's Dept. of Transport; researching art for the Montreal Olympics sport art exhibition; pre-trial interviews of witnesses for industrial trademark infringement hearings; assisting a caterer in France; painting logos on the sides tractor-trailers; and ferrying automobiles for Avis between JFK/IAD/TPA.
Health activism issues
In 1979, O'Neil founded a small public interest research group, Woman Health International, with a team of volunteer librarians. The group's sole mission was to research the ingredients in tampons (a menstrual hygiene product) and to lobby the FDA to include consumers on the medical device review panel, then composed entirely of industry officials or medical specialists working for the manufacturers. The resulting paper was published in the Center for Science in the Public Interest journal. O'Neil contributed a case study about the recall of Rely tampons to the first edition (1983) of Case Studies in Business, Society, and Ethics, edited by Tom Beachamp.When the Asbestos Compensation Committee formed in 1981 to support a bill by then United States Senator Gary Hart, primarily to represent the interests of trial attorneys and asbestos manufacturers, O'Neil consulted with the committee to advocate for former asbestos workers with long term disabling diseases which involved meetings with physicians, insurers, compensation analysts and lawmakers.
Appointed the lowest academic rank - Demonstrator - at the University of Toronto Department of Preventive Medicine & Epidemiology, during the 1970s O'Neil also managed research budgets for the Department in the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine
University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine
The Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto is the medical school of the University of Toronto. The faculty is based in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto along with most of its teaching hospitals and research institutes. Founded in 1843, it is one of Canada's oldest institutions of...
. She collaborated on a pioneering medical textbook, Prevention in Clinical Practice with Robert W. Morgan, M.D.
After successfully defending herself against a serial rapist in Florida, O'Neil wrote about the experience for the anthology of women's self-defense reports "Her Wits About Her" published in 1987. Continuing interest in self-defense techniques prompted O'Neil to write about Contemporary Fighting Arts and to seek training in kickbox and Japanese archery.
Early life
O'Neil grew up near Washington, DC on a modest family farm near Sandy SpringSandy Spring, Maryland
Sandy Spring, Maryland is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Maryland.The community was founded by Quakers who arrived in the early 18th century searching for land where they could grow tobacco and corn. One of the very early land owners in the Sandy Spring area was Richard Snowden,...
producing Christmas trees, eggs, honey and organic vegetables. O'Neil and family still keep bees.
O'Neil's mother taught art and art history at Sandy Spring Friends School
Sandy Spring Friends School
Sandy Spring Friends School is a Quaker pre-Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade co-educational college preparatory day school with optional five and seven day boarding programs in the Upper School. SSFS is located on a wooded campus in the historic Quaker community of Sandy Spring in the heart of...
and during WWII worked in photo reconnaissance with the Women's Auxiliary Air Force
Women's Auxiliary Air Force
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force , whose members were invariably referred to as Waafs , was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II, established in 1939. At its peak strength, in 1943, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000, with over 2,000 women enlisting per week.A Women's Royal Air...
. A maternal aunt married Bolesaw Michal Gladych who is O'Neil's Godfather
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
. O'Neil's father, an architect, constructed topographic feature models used in Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
briefings in England.
O'Neil's grandfather, Harold R. Peat
Harold R. Peat
Harold Reginald Peat was a Canadian soldier and author.Born in Jamaica, and emigrated to Toronto with his mother, Peat was educated privately and at boarding school in Kingston, Jamaica. In August 1916 he married Louisa Watson Small. Louisa Watson Small was born in Keady, Armagh, Ireland and...
was an author and lecturer and her grandmother, Louisa Watson Small Peat
Louisa Watson Small Peat
Louisa Watson Small Peat was a lecturer and writer who was born in Keady, County Armagh, Ireland, in 1883. After attending Queens College, Belfast, Louisa Small also attended the University of London....
was an editor and author.
Other
O'Neil studied painting at the Corcoran College of Art and DesignCorcoran College of Art and Design
The Corcoran College of Art and Design, , founded in 1890, is the only professional college of art and design in Washington, DC, located in the Downtown area. The school is a private institution in association with the Corcoran Gallery of Art.The Corcoran Gallery of Art is Washington's first and...
and with other artists, including Eliot O'Hara, who occasionally offered watercolor workshops in Maryland after his painting school burned. A lifelong philatelist, O'Neil is an active participant in global Mail art
Mail art
Mail art is a worldwide cultural movement that began in the early 1960s and involves sending visual art through the international postal system. Mail Art is also known as Postal Art or Correspondence Art...
ist. O'Neil participated in art collaboration projects such as Ryosuke Cohen
Ryosuke Cohen
is a mail artist. He was responsible for the Brain Cell mail art project, which he began in June of 1985 and retains thousands of members in more than 80 countries, e.g. Hans Braumüller, Theo Breuer, Michael Leigh or Litsa Spathi. In August 2001 he began the Fractal Portrait Project...
's Brain Cell
Brain Cell
Brain Cell is a mail art project begun by Ryosuke Cohen in June 1985. The project is basically a networked art project where individual artists create their own 30x42cm work of art with stamps, drawings, stickers and so forth. This is sent to Cohen, who prints each cell - 150 copies each - with a...
and G. A. Cavellini's
Guglielmo Achille Cavellini
Guglielmo Achille Cavellini, also known as GAC was an influential Italian art collector and mail artist.Cavellini was born into a merchant family in Brescia, lombardy, where he ran a dry-goods shop through the post-war years following World War II.He produced many reinterpretations of concurrent...
archive. O'Neil's art works have appeared in painting exhibitions at the National Museum of Women in the Arts
National Museum of Women in the Arts
The National Museum of Women in the Arts , located in Washington, D.C. is the only museum solely dedicated to celebrating women’s achievements in the visual, performing, and literary arts. NMWA was incorporated in 1981 by Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay...
and other venues.