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UW Classics Alumnus Performs Original Musical Odyssey in All 50 US States
UW Classics Alumnus Performs Original Musical Odyssey in All 50 US States
- Jun. 14, 2024

Chicago-based Class of ’98 graduate Joe Goodkin has put his BA in classics from the UW to use in a both novel and traditional way, composing and performing two one-man bardic folk opera retellings of Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad (The Blues of Achilles).
Over two decades, he has done nearly 500 combined performances of these original song cycles as a guest of such institutions as Harvard, Stanford, Oxford (UK), Cambridge (UK), UC–Berkeley, and many, many more (including, of course, his alma mater itself).
In 2023, Joe achieved the milestone of performing his Odyssey in all 50 U.S. states with a performance at Oklahoma State University.
He work has been recognized by awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, as well as supported by grants from the Society for Classical Studies.
Find more information at joesodyssey.com, thebluesofachilles.com, and joegoodkin.com.
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Michael Anderson ’05, MS’09, PhD’11 and Jie Liu ’09, MS’11 celebrated 14 years of marriage in November 2025. They met in 2009 while working for different Wisconsin professors at CERN in the city of Meyrin, Switzerland. Michael was a research assis...
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Submitted by Robert Carson, Robertsdale, AL: Just a simple note of memories that may only be of interest to family members. I knew Pete when we were both captains in Danang, 1968. We were the two aides-de-camp to the commanding general of the 1st ...
David Wood Stewart MS’76, PhD’79 died on October 28, 2025, at Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community, Asheville, NC. He was 95. A native of Kalamazoo, Michigan, he was born on December 12, 1929, the son of S. Glenn and Esther Wood Stewart. In 19...
Michael Anderson ’05, MS’09, PhD’11 and Jie Liu ’09, MS’11 celebrated 14 years of marriage in November 2025. They met in 2009 while working for different Wisconsin professors at CERN in the city of Meyrin, Switzerland. Michael was a research assis...
Calvin Beyer ’86 was elected to the National Academy of Construction in the class of 2025. Calvin Beyer is the senior director of SAFE Workplaces for the national nonprofit SAFE Project (Stop the Addiction Fatality Epidemic). Beyer leads national ...
Submitted by Robert Carson, Robertsdale, AL: Just a simple note of memories that may only be of interest to family members. I knew Pete when we were both captains in Danang, 1968. We were the two aides-de-camp to the commanding general of the 1st ...
David Wood Stewart MS’76, PhD’79 died on October 28, 2025, at Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community, Asheville, NC. He was 95. A native of Kalamazoo, Michigan, he was born on December 12, 1929, the son of S. Glenn and Esther Wood Stewart. In 19...





