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William M. Murray

William M. Murray
  • June 18, 1929 - February 21, 2016
  • Iowa City, Iowa
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Memories & Candles

“Loved the give and take between Murray and Mark Moskowitz in The Stone Reader.Wish I had studied under Murray when he taught at Iowa. ”
1 of 5 | Posted by: Charles Behlen - Lovington, NM


2 of 5 | Posted by: Mary Schedl - Princeton, NJ

“I'm working on a gathering. A memorial for Da. Thinking Blue Bird Diner Thursday April 7th at 4pm. Bring a thought or a song. Bring your pipe. Bring...Read More » ”
3 of 5 | Posted by: David Murray - Iowa City, IA

“My sympathies to everybody, we have lovely memories of long rambling phone calls as Gaeilge and English my daughter Clodagh who spent a lot of time...Read More » ”
4 of 5 | Posted by: Mary Vaughan - Ennis ireland

“With deepest sympathies. His was a life well lived. ”
5 of 5 | Posted by: William and Joann Murray - RYAN, IA


William Martin (Cotter) Murray passed away, February 21, 2016 at his home in Iowa City.

Bill grew up in County Clare Ireland in the 30's and sailed to the United States in 1948 carrying a cardboard suitcase. He served in the U.S. Army from 1951 to 1953, joined the Iowa Writers' Workshop in the 1950s, and became a professor of English at the University of Iowa until he retired in 1991. Bill wrote poetry and several novels including Michael Joe, which won the Meredith award and was broadcast as a radio play across Ireland. He was mentor to Dow Mossman and appeared in the 2003 documentary, Stone Reader, about lost novels. Bill leaves behind his wife Hua-Jung and four children Margaret, David, Eleanor, and John.

A reading and memorial will be held in the upcoming months. When details for this are available, they may be found on this page.