Michael J. Hayes

Michael J. Hayes is a religious poet from St. Johns, Michigan, known most prominently on this site for the Tri-Sola collection.

Personal life
Little is known about Mike outside of the fact that he has lived most of his life in St. Johns. He has a brother from his childhood - Ben Hayes. He also has a cousin named Chad Hayes. Mike is a self-described "night owl." Among his favorite quotes is the English Standard Version Bible take on Isaiah 6, which he has described as "the clearest law and gospel - perfect."

Education
Mike attended St. Johns High School from 1986-1990. He then attended Concordia University - Ann Arbor from 1991-1996.

Career
Mike spent much of his life after college working at various hotels. He landed jobs at Radisson and Wingardner in 2008, where he has worked ever since.

Tri-Sola
While going through a bit of a depression, Mike turned toward theological study - one of his favorite pastimes - as a way of coping. It was here that he got the inspiration to right an essay which would later become known as "Petals." He decided to pursue writing an entire book around similar subject matter, initially drafting it as "Reflections by Mike Hayes." It was not long before several more poems were written, most prominently "Mere Pittance" and "Powerful Comfort" in 2003. When "Tragedy/Glory" was added to the mix, he decided that Reflections would be renamed "Fortress Rock Poetry."

In 2004, with the arrival of "Not My Will," the collection underwent yet another name change to its current "Tri-Sola" branding. Two more poems: "The Modern Pursuers" and "Lament My Soul, and Be Crucified" were written in late 2004. After this, updates to the collection became more sporadic. "Passionate Peace," for example, was not released until 2008. It'd be several more years before additional poems were written.