Pronunciation Guide
for Names of Haiku Poets

The following is a short pronunciation guide to names of selected English-language haiku poets and translators, past and present. Each pronunciation is based on personal experience, or on written confirmation received through the mail or via email. If you have a name and pronunciation to add to this list, I would love to hear from you. To read more about how the poet’s name after a haiku informs the poem, acting as a sort of “fourth line,” please read “On a First-Name Basis: Deepening Haiku with its ‘Fourth Line.’”

Fay Aoyagi ah-oh-yah-gee (hard g; not jee)

Mykel Board michael bord

Roberta Beary beery

Margaret Chula shoo-la (not chew-la)

Ion Codrescu yon ka-DRESS-ku

Carlos W. Colón ka-LONE (as in cologne; not CO-lun; and note the acute accent on the second “o” in his last name,

   although he doesn’t always use it)

Raffael de Gruttola RAFF-fay-el (not RAFF-fie-el); duh GROO-tullah (not duh gruh-TOW-la)

Marje A. Dyck MAR-jee (soft g); dick (not dike)

Jeanne Emrich jean (not genie); EM-rik (not EM-rich)

Sandra Fuhringer FUR-in-jer (soft g)

Doris Heitmeyer HITE my-er

Gary Hotham HOE-thum (not HAW-thum)

Marshall Hryciuk ri-CHOOK

Jim Kacian KAY-shun (rhymes with “vacation”; not KAY-see-un)

Larry Kimmel KIM-mull (not kim-MELL)

David Lanoue la-N00 (rhymes with canoe; not la-NEW-ee or la-NO-ee)

Kenneth C. Leibman LIBE-man (not LEEB-man)

Laura Maffei maf-FAY (not MAFF-fee-aye)

Robert F. Mainone ma-NO-nee (not MAIN-won)

Paul David Mena MAY-na (not MEE-na)

A. C. Missias mi-SIGH-us (not MISS-ee-us)

Lenard D. Moore le-NARD (not LEN-urd)

H. F. Noyes noise

Francine Porad POR-ad (rhymes with FOR; not puh-RAD)

David Priebe PREE-bee (not just preeb)

Jane Reichhold RYE-cold (also, note the two h’s is her last name, often misspelled)

Carolyne Rohrig ROAR-rig (not ROW-rig)

Ce Rosenow See ROZE-now (not say ROW-zen-now)

John Sheirer SHY-er (not SHEER-er)

Robert Spiess speece (not spice)

Elizabeth St Jacques saint ZHOK (and note that “St Jacques” has no period in “St,” but she does live in Sault Ste. Marie, with a period, in Ontario)

Tom Tico TEE-ko (not TIE-ko)

Sue Stapleton Tkach tuh-CATCH

Makoto Ueda oo-way-duh (not you-aye-duh)

Cor van den Heuvel HOO-vul (not HOY-vul or huh-WAY-vul)

Michael Dylan Welch dillon (not DIE-lan); welch (as in the grape juice; not welsh)

Nina Wicker NIGH-na WICK-er (not NEE-na WHY-ker)

Ruth Yarrow yeah-row (rhymes with arrow; not YAR-row as in yard)

Rich Youmans YU-muns (not YO-muns)