Pronunciation Guide
for Names of Haiku Poets

First written in April of 2000 in Foster City, California, and revised multiple times since then. Previously unpublished, but originally written as part of “On a First-Name Basis: Deepening Haiku with its ‘Fourth Line.’” Please let me know if you have any additions or corrections for this list.

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)