Jeff Wright’s mission is making Homer’s epics accessible (and FUN) for audiences who are not necessarily educated in the Classics.  Following 20 years of teaching the humanities, Jeff launched his career as a 21st century Homeric Bard. Over 10,000 teenagers had their first introduction to Achilles, Helen, Odysseus, and the Trojan Horse through Jeff’s shows.  Trojan War: The Podcast and Odyssey: The Podcast brought Homer’s epic stories to adult listeners, with a growing 1.3mm downloads in 191 nations. In 2020 the Society for Classical Studies awarded Odyssey: The Podcast its Forum Prize as the year’s “best public-facing essay, book, poem, article, podcast, film, or other piece.”  Jeff’s live shows include on-stage performance storytelling – “Blame it on Zeus’s Thunderbolt” – intimate salon gatherings, and raucous affairs in bars and clubs. Jeff’s leadership lectures- “Leadership Lessons from a Bronze Age War” – fuse the fun of Homer’s tales with the contemporary insights of Behavioral Economics and Leadership Theory.  In “On Being a 21st Century Homeric Bard” Jeff recounts his personal journey in “singing Homer” to 21st century audiences. Beginning with the comically disastrous first time he attempted to teach the Iliad, Jeff then explores the real challenge of navigating contemporary audiences through the Scylla and Charybdis of Bronze Age epic.  When not geeking out on Greek epic, Jeff’s passions include wilderness canoe tripping, playing in the kitchen, and hanging out in the gym.  Jeff co-led our 2023 Homeric Storytelling + Creative Writing course.