Astoria community comes together to honor friend, poet found dead Friday
Published 12:44 pm Saturday, May 2, 2026
The Astoria community has quickly come together to honor one of their own.
Grant Leslie, the 63-year-old man who was found deceased on Friday morning in Astoria, was a familiar face to many, frequenting Cambium Gallery + Coffee Bar and as a street poet, regularly read his poems at Ric’s Mic, a monthly poetry reading.
On Friday, Cambium Gallery + Coffee Bar posted a notice on social media that the coffee spot was closing early.
“We received really difficult news in regards to the loss of one of our daily patrons and are closed early.
“Nobody tells you when you open a coffee shop how attached you’ll get to your regulars. We’ve spent every morning for the last two years with Grant. We’ve shared a love of music and John Prine, shared stories of our lives and talked about the state of the world. We’re so grateful for all the stories and can only hope he’s found peace.”
Later on Friday, the establishment posted again.
“Today was hard and became very unmanageable very quickly. We lost a dear friend and an incredible, hilarious, kind human and our days will never be the same without the harmonica filled story hour to start with. … We are heartbroken.”
The poetry community will be toasting Leslie at this month’s poetry gathering at Ric’s at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, according to Jennifer Nightingale, who sent the information in an email.
“Grant was born on September 26, 1962 in Astoria in the Fern Hill neighborhood where his mother grew up,” Nighingale wrote. “Grant knew the backstory to so many places and people in town. I wish I had paid better attention and that I had asked him for copies of his work.
“Grant didn’t have a chat book or a website. He struggled and was often as they say in today’s parlance – unhoused. Yet he was cheerful and kind. He wrote his poetry on scraps of paper or in a notebook. Sometimes it shimmered. Sometimes it was funny. Sometimes he played his harmonica. Sometimes, he just listened to other poet’s words.
“Let’s lift a glass to our poet friend this Tuesday … at WineKraft in Astoria at our Ric’s Mic.”
Leslie was found at 6:01 a.m. Friday morning. The Astoria Police Department received a call of a man slumped over in a chair at Astor and Seventh streets. They arrived at 6:08 a.m. and “located a deceased 63-year-old male.” According to an APD press release, the man, later identified as Grant Frederick Leslie, was known to be unhoused and the medical examiner said the death appeared to be from natural causes. “There is no reason to believe that it was related to exposure, trauma or any other suspicious circumstances,” said the press release.
The APD is asking anyone who may have information regarding the incident to contact Detective Sergio Carrera at 503-325-4411 or by email at scarrera@astoria.gov.