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LAURENCE OVERMIRE, known to many for his work as Poet-In-Residence on The Jeff Farias Show, has had a multi-faceted career as writer, actor, director, educator, and genealogist. His award-winning poetry has been widely published in the U.S. and abroad in hundreds of magazines, journals, and anthologies. He has also authored three books of poetry: Honor and Remembrance: A Poetic Journey through American History (2007); Report From X-Star 10 (2009), a collection of Sci-Fi poetry drawing attention to serious environmental issues; and Gone Hollywood (2011), a revealing look at the realities behind the illusions of Show Business. His plays include Slingshot, A Woman in Washington’s Army, and A Scrooge Mart Christmas Carol.?
Overmire became a professional actor with the world-renowned Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis and then went on to a successful career on stage, film and television in New York and Hollywood including the Broadway production of Amadeus directed by Sir Peter Hall, the network TV soap operas All My Children, As the World Turns, One Life to Live, Another World and Loving, and Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival. He also served as Executive Producer of the Writer’s Lab, a non-profit organization in Hollywood to promote quality writing in the entertainment industry, and has been involved in arts education for over 25 years, designing and teaching programs for Lincoln Center Institute of New York City, Manhattan Theatre Club, MeadowBrook Theatre, and Oregon Children's Theatre among others.
A respected genealogist, Mr. Overmire is the author of One Immigrant's Legacy: The Overmyer Family in America 1751-2009. He has also published several genealogical studies online, most notably “The Ancestry of Overmire, Tifft, Richardson, Bradford, Reed,” which has received over a million hits. His work has helped tens of thousands of people discover their family roots and find their intimate connections to the people and events that have shaped world history.
Overmire began writing poetry as a way to document and reflect upon his experience, compiling what he refers to as a “diary in art.” His background in the arts, rather than in academia, gives him a decidedly different perspective on the writing of poetry, one that emphasizes a right-brain as opposed to a left-brain approach and advocates complete freedom within the art form, simplicity of language, and focus on the importance of what is being expressed.
"Poetry is the art of using language to transcend language," Overmire says. "Much of my work comes out of two simple ideas. The first is The Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. And the second is We are One. All of us are one family, interconnected and interdependent upon one another for our well-being. And central to both of these ideas are love and compassion. So a lot of what I write about are the things I see in the world that somehow violate these two ideas. As an artist, I believe it's very important to look at and confront the dark aspects of human nature. Those who refuse to look at or give expression to the dark side of life are in denial—fear preventing passage through the door of growth, truth and, ultimately, wisdom."
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