Willard Richardson Espy

Background

Espy was born in Olympia, Washington (state) in 1910 and raised in the coastal village of Oysterville which had been founded by his grandfather, R. H. Espy, in 1854.

Education

Espy graduated from the University of Redlands in 1930, after which he spent a year abroad, enrolling at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Career

He was the best-known collector of and commentator on word play of his time, and is also particularly remembered for his national bestseller Oysterville: Roads to Grandpa"s Village. He was hired by Reader"s Digest in 1941 and spent the next sixteen years working there in various positions, including as promotion director His writing career took off in the late 1960s.

He eventually authored fifteen books on language, and his poetry and articles regularly appeared in Punch, Reader"s Digest, The Atlantic Monthly, The Nation, and Word Ways: The Journal of Recreational Linguistics.

His light verse has been compared to that of Lewis Carroll, West. South. Gilbert, Ogden Nash and Cole Porter. Later in life he split his time between Manhattan and Oysterville, and wrote nationally bestselling books on local history, including Oysterville: Roads to Grandpa"s Village (1977) and Skulduggery on Shoalwater Bay (1998).

Espy died aged 88 in a New York City hospital in 1999.

Achievements

• Two of his books on wordplay, The Game of Words and An Almanac of Words at Play, were honored at the Governor"s Writers Day Awards (now the Washington State Book Awards).

Works

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  • Another Almanac of Words at Play

    (An inveterate punster who collected clerihews, dabbled in...)

  • A Children's Almanac of Words at Play

    (An assortment of writings, including limericks, riddles, ...)

  • Omak me yours tonight, or, Ilwaco million miles for one of your smiles: A Ballard of Washington State

    (Willard Espy Manipulates words every which way in several...)

  • Words to Rhyme with: For Poets and Songwriters (The Facts on File Writer's Library)

    (What rhymes with orange? This rhyming dictionary has the ...)

  • The Best of An Almanac of Words at Play

    (Get a daily dose of wordplay all year: 366 days worth of ...)

  • The Garden of Eloquence: A Rhetorical Bestiary

    (Willard Espy has been compared to Lewis Carroll for his l...)

  • Words to Rhyme with: A Rhyming Dictionary (Facts on File Writer's Library)

    (The longtime resource of choice for poets, song-writers, ...)

  • Words to Rhyme with: A Rhyming Dictionary (Facts on File Library of Language and Literature)

    (The essential rhyming dictionary, updated and expanded, f...)

  • O Thou Improper, Thou Uncommon Noun: An Etymology of Words That Once Were Names

    (Etymology of Words That Once Were Names)

  • Say it my way: How to avoid certain pitfalls of spoken English together with a decidedly informal history of how our language rose (or fell)

    (Say It My Way, by Espy, Willard R.)

  • Omak Me Yours Tonight

    (Published by the Seattle Book Co., softcover, has appendi...)

  • Almanac of Words at Play 148
  • Words to Rhyme with (Facts on File Library of Language and Literature) by Willard R. Espy (2001-05-03)

    (Will be shipped from US. Brand new copy.)

  • Have a Word on Me: A Celebration of Language

    (Book by Espy, Willard R.)

  • Espygrams: 55 Anagram Verses

    (Book by Espy, Willard R.)

  • Almanac of Words at Play
  • The life and works of Mr. Anonymous

    (Life And Works Of Mr. Anonymous, The, by Espy, Willard R.)

  • O Thou Improper, Thou Uncommon Noun: A Bobtailed, Generally Chronological Listing of Proper Names That Have Become Improper ...
  • The Life and Works of Mr. Anonymous
  • Skulduggery on Shoalwater Bay by Willard R. Espy (1998-07-13)
  • "Say it My Way"
  • The Best of An Almanac of Words at Play by Willard R. Espy (1999-09-01)
  • The Garden of Eloquence: A Rhetorical Bestiary
  • Have A Word On Me (A Celebration Of Language) by Willard R Espy (1981-07-30)
  • Almanac of Words at Play by Willard R. Espy (1975-09-02)
  • Have A Word On Me (A Celebration Of Language)
  • Almanac of Words at Play by Willard R. Espy (1975-09-02)
  • Have A Word On Me (A Celebration Of Language) by Willard R Espy (1981-05-03)
  • Words to Rhyme with: A Rhyming Dictionary (Facts on File Library of Language and Literature) by William R. Espy (2006-02-01)
  • Say it my way: How to avoid certain pitfalls of spoken English together with a decidedly informal history of how our language rose (or fell) by Willard R Espy (1980-01-01)
  • The Garden of Eloquence: A Rhetorical Beastiary, Including Portions of the First Garden of Eloquence
  • Words to Rhyme With Updated Edition
  • Bold New Program
  • Omak Me Yours Tonight or Ilwaco Million Miles for One of Your Smiles
  • Skulduggery on Shoalwater Bay
  • The Garden of Eloquence: A Rhetorical Bestiary by Willard R. Espy (1983-09-03)
  • Have A Word On Me (A Celebration Of Language) 1st edition by Willard R Espy (1981) Hardcover
  • Another Almanac of Words at Play by Willard R. Espy (1988-12-12)
  • Say it My Way: Ho