Michael Henry Lee was immediately drawn to haiku from his first exposure in grade school. The seed was planted, yet germination took a circuitous journey through 30 years in Missouri, then 22 more in Southern California, where an appreciation for all things Japanese gained a firm foothold…sushi, Aikido and bonsai among them.

Lee and his wife of over 45 years relocated to Saint Augustine, Florida to be near family. There, he crossed paths with a co-worker (who ultimately became Beat Poet Laureate of Florida), and reignited Lee’s passion for writing poetry, something they routinely did on their lunch-breaks. Returning full circle to his love of haiku and other Japanese poetry forms, Lee immersed himself in haiku journals, websites and organizations. He has been reading and writing poetry on a daily basis since and finds that there is much to be enjoyed and expressed in seventeen syllables or less.

A husband, father and grandfather living in the nation’s oldest city, Lee’s internationally recognized, award-winning work is frequently published in many online and print journals. Other interests include bird watching, tai chi, photography and an abiding love of animal companionship.

Lee’s most recent accomplishments include being voted Third Most Popular poet of 2024 in the Heron’s Nest Readers Poll, inclusion in Telling the Bees 2024 Red Moon Press Anthology
and an invitation to appear in the upcoming Lee Gurga & Scott Metz Haiku 21.2 Anthology. Lee is honored to be selected as the Mann Library’s Daily Haiku Poet Of The Month for June 2025.