David G. Lanoue (born David Gerard Lanoue, September 27, 1954, Omaha Nebraska, U.S.A.). professor of English at Xavier University of Louisiana, translator, critic, and poet. Author of five haiku novels, four books of haiku translation (Kobayashi Issa), three books of haiku criticism (about Issa), two collections of original haiku, and one instructional manual for writing haiku (inspired by Issa). He maintains The Haiku of Kobayashi Issa website, for which he translated 10,000 of Issa’s haiku, and wrote the Haikupedia article Haikupedia article “Kobayashi Issa.” Lanoue has served as president of the Haiku Society of America and was a cofounder of the New Orleans Haiku Society. He has lived in New Orleans, Louisiana, since 1981.

Kobayashi Issa (小林一茶, born Kobayashi Nobuyuki, June 15, 1763, Kashiwabara, Shinano province [present-day Nagano prefecture], Japan; childhood name Kobayashi Yatarō; died January 5, 1828, Kashiwabara), Japanese haiku poet. Issa is revered in Japan and internationally as one of the greatest poets of the haikai tradition, ranked with Matsuo Bashō and Yosa Buson.