Michael has won first prize in numerous poetry contests and his work has been translated into at least twenty languages. His haiku have been been recited for the Empress of Japan and at the Baseball Hall of Fame, chiseled into stone in New Zealand, and printed on balloons. One of his translations from the Japanese appeared on the back of 150,000,000 U.S. postage stamps in 2012. He was also keynote speaker for the Haiku International Association conference in Tokyo in 2013. His recent books include Jumble Box: Haiku and Senryu from National Haiku Writing Month (2017), Seven Suns / Seven Moons (with Tanya McDonald, 2016), Off the Beaten Track: A Year in Haiku (2016), Fire in the Treetops: Celebrating Twenty-Five Years of Haiku North America (2015), and Becoming a Haiku Poet (2015). Michael maintains a hyperactive website, devoted mostly to haiku, at www.graceguts.com.
He is the author of a mini-chapbook, "In a Country with Two Seasons" (Poems-For-All), an e-chapbook, "exposed wishes" (proletaria, Singapore), two poetry chapbooks, "Losing a Balloon: Haiku and Senryu" (Alien Buddha Press) and "where it was" (Clare Songbirds Publishing House, New York), and a short fiction collection, "Thread and Other Stories" (Alien Buddha Press).
He was a fellow for fiction at the 44th University of the Philippines National Writers Summer Workshop in Baguio City, Philippines. His short story, The Kite, has been broadcast on 4EB-FM, 98.1, Brisbane, Australia. His poetry has won international recognition including first places in the European Kukai and Shiki Kukai, commendation in the Diogen Spring Tanka Contest and Sharpening the Green Pencil Haiku Contest, and honorable mentions in the Annual Mainichi Haiku Contest and Setouchi Matsuyama International Photo Haiku Contest. He is a Dwarf Stars Award nominee.
Some of his fiction and poetry have been published in journals, magazines (print and online), and anthologies. His Japanese short form poetry have appeared in The Red Moon Anthology of English Language Haiku, The Living Haiku Anthology, The Living Senryu Anthology, The Dwarf Stars Anthology. His haiga have been featured in World Haiku Association Haiga Contest, Haigaonline and Daily Haiga.
He now lives in Laoac, Pangasinan, Philippines with his wife Rowena and his daughters Felicity and Asiel Sophie.