Obituary of William M. Murray

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.