Poetry as life: From writing in secret to studying at UC Berkeley
Michael Battisto, a UC Berkeley transfer student, reflects on how poetry shaped his life from childhood struggles to studying English at Berkeley after careers in restaurants and writing.
Michael Battisto, an incoming transfer student at UC Berkeley, describes how poetry became his lifeline amid a challenging upbringing in a working-class Chicago family marked by his father’s mental health struggles and incarceration. He found solace in books like Roald Dahl’s *Fantastic Mr. Fox* and the King James Bible, using reading as an escape from a restrictive home environment. Battisto’s early exposure to literature, including Walt Whitman’s *Leaves of Grass* during a hospitalization, solidified his identity as a poet and connected him to broader human experiences across time.
After years of working overnight shifts and traveling to gain culinary experience, Battisto landed a position at Berkeley’s Chez Panisse, where he worked as a lead cook while secretly writing poetry. His career in high-end restaurants, including those led by James Beard Award-winning chefs, provided stability but did not diminish his passion for writing. The pandemic’s closure of Chez Panisse allowed him to dedicate a year to writing full-time, resulting in over 170 published poems and recognition such as nominations for *Best of the Net* and a *Touchstone Award*.
Battisto’s poetry often addresses themes like food insecurity, housing struggles, intergenerational trauma, and urban history, reflecting his personal and professional experiences. Despite publishing widely, he kept his writing hidden from peers and partners until the pandemic provided an unexpected opportunity to focus on his craft. His decision to attend UC Berkeley stems from a commitment to freedom of expression and a desire to refine his skills in a rigorous academic environment.
As a Jack Kent Cooke Scholar, Battisto plans to major in English and minor in creative writing or rhetoric at Berkeley, where he is enrolled in a poetry workshop with Geoffrey O’Brien. He highlights the university’s English department as a world-leading institution that emphasizes the social and historical contexts of literature, aligning with his interest in exploring how external pressures shape artistic creation. Battisto remains inspired by the vast, untapped potential of contemporary writing, viewing Berkeley as an ideal place to further his literary and intellectual growth.