Murray Gordon (1937-2021) was a founder of Poet’s Table with a loose association of ten poets who had completed the advanced poetry course offered by the University of Washington Extension Classes. Murray was an active member of the Seattle Poetry scene, a performance poet at many venues including the Frye Art Museum, area bookstore events, the Culture and Parks Committee of Seattle City Council and other local venues. Murray taught writing enrichment classes to school age children at John Stanford International School and through Powerful Schools, an after school program. “Mr. Murray” not only guided the students in their writing but taught them that they were writers. Murray drew inspiration from his Philadelphia WWII era childhood, his coming of age in the Beat era, his work as an industrial engineer in the garment industry, his devotion to Buddhism and his keen observations of the world. He always had a pen and a small notebook in his pockets. Murray was a gregarious man who charmed with his wit, humor and his stories. Among his loves were dancing to a Zydeco beat, walking the Oregon Coast, writing at his desk, the company of friends and family and schmoozing with the world at large.
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