Willard R. Espy | |
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| Born | Willard Richardson Espy December 11, 1910 Olympia, Washington, U.S. |
| Died | February 20, 1999 (aged 88) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Oysterville Cemetery, Washington, U.S. |
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| Alma mater | University of Redlands |
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| Notable works | An Almanac of Words at Play Oysterville: Roads to Grandpa's Village |
| Spouse | Hilda Cole (m. 1940)Louise Manheim (m. 1962) |
Willard Richardson Espy (December 11, 1910 – February 20, 1999) was an American editor, philologist, writer, poet, and local historian. Raised in the seaside village of Oysterville, Washington, Espy later studied at the University of Redlands in California before becoming an editor in New York City, as well as a contributor to Reader's Digest, The New Yorker, Punch, and other publications.
In the 1960s, he began publishing books on philology as well collections of poetry collections, and became the best-known collector of and commentator on word play of his time.[1] In 1977, he published the national bestseller Oysterville: Roads to Grandpa's Village, a semi-autobiographical novel about his familial heritage in the Oysterville community. Espy died at New York Hospital in Manhattan in 1999, and was interred at Oysterville Cemetery.
- ^ Nilsen, Alleen; Nilsen, Don (2008). "Literature and humor". In Raskin, Victor (ed.). The Primer of Humor Research. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 243–80. ISBN 978-3-11-018616-1.