Willard Marsh

Born in Oakland, California, Willard "Butch" Marsh served in the U.S. Army Air Forces in the South Pacific during World War II, where he began writing. After the war he studied at the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, earning both a B.A. and an M.A., and later taught English at Winthrop College, UCLA, and North Texas State University.

Marsh lived for long stretches in Chapala and Ajijic, Mexico, and that experience shaped much of his fiction. He was one of the early writers to turn the Lake Chapala area into literary setting, most notably in Week With No Friday (1965), a novel centered on expatriate life, and in Beachhead in Bohemia: Stories (1969).

Though not widely known today, Marsh left behind a body of work that blends bohemian atmosphere, sharp observation, and a feeling for people living slightly off-center from ordinary American life. His papers, including drafts and personal materials, are preserved at the University of Iowa.