Michael Battisto is an Oakland-based poet, essayist, editor, teacher, and tutor who worked for many years as a cook and chef in high-end kitchens throughout the country. Having written thousands of poems since he was a boy, but showing them to no one, he began submitting work in 2020. Since then he has had over one hundred and sixty poems accepted in journals such as Rattle, Poet Lore, The Normal School, HAD, Pithead Chapel, and others. He has lived in many places, but now he lives in Oakland.