Pen Names and Pronunciations
Geisel's pen name is regularly pronounced /ˈsjuːs/ SEWSS, an anglicized pronunciation inconsistent with his German surname. He himself noted that it rhymed with "voice" (his own pronunciation being /ˈsɔɪs/ SOYSS) and Alexander Liang (his collaborator on the Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern) wrote of him:
- You’re wrong as the deuce
- And you shouldn’t rejoice
- If you’re calling him Seuss.
- He pronounces it Soice (or Zoice)
Geisel switched to the anglicized pronunciation because it "evoked a figure advantageous for an author of children’s books to be associated with—Mother Goose" and because most people used this pronunciation.
For books that Geisel wrote and others illustrated, he used the pen name "Theo LeSieg" ("LeSieg" is "Geisel" spelled backward).
Read more about this topic: Dr. Seuss
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