To add to submission guidelines?
“If your name is in any way unusual or frequently subject to mis-pronunciation, please include a phonetic spelling of the correct pronunciation.”
I’m getting smarter at nailing this down earlier in the process, but in a few cases I’ve actually been at the mike when I realize I’m not sure how to pronounce the poet’s name correctly for the poem credit.
You pronounced my name perfectly! I was astonished. People I’ve known for years often can’t pronounce my name.
That’s so lovely to hear, Chrissie! Yours was a case when I had worked the poems perfectly and was totally ready for the mike at the very moment I realized I had forgotten to ask about your name. So I thought, what the heck, let’s live dangerously and go with a guess – and yay, it worked out!
(I know – some furious Whale Sound poet with a mispronounced name is waiting in the wings to pounce as we speak…)
Thank you so much for asking! Almost everyone mispronounces my last name, and it’s lovely to know that you will be saying it correctly since you took the minute it takes to inquire!
I don’t think anyone will pounce on you! I so love your project!