Interview with Mike Natale: Award Winning Poet and Artist

by Michael Caballero

BROOKLINE, MA – There are a lot of great untold stories throughout our community, and we’re always taking requests for our News & Notes newsletter. We recently learned of one of these stories. We were visiting one of our Brookline houses when one house member, Mike Natale, shared that he had won an award for his poetry at his job, Gateway Arts. 

Since Mike is a humble guy, this didn’t really come as a surprise to us that we didn’t know about him winning a poetry award, but after a bit of convincing, Mike agreed to share more about his experience and how poetry writing and art in general have been an important part of his life.

Mike has been a house member in one of our Brookline houses for about 10 years. If you visit his house in the afternoon before dinner time, it’s likely that you’ll walk into the living room and see him stationed on the couch or chair, multitasking. He’ll have a gaming device in front of him with a tablet that he uses for drawing in his lap or on the arm of the chair, but somehow he manages to remain engaged with his housemates about current events or whatever topic they are discussing at that moment! It was in this environment that we learned about Mike’s poetry success.

Last fall, Mike’s poem was submitted to Vinfen’s Annual Art and Literary Contest, and he won first place in the Professional Literary category. When we asked Mike what he thought about being considered for the award he said, “I was happy to hear that I was being considered for the award. I’ve won awards before, so winning is not important to me. Writing the poem and sharing it is the most important thing to me.” However, he later admitted that he didn’t mind the winning prize money of $100, which he used to purchase a refurbished PS2: “I do like gaming, and I had been wanting a PS2, so it was nice to have that money to help me purchase the PS2.”

Mike’s poetry writing journey began when he joined Gateway Arts several years ago. Mike shared, “My poetry writing really started at Gateway. I had problems expressing my feelings, so my old coordinator at Gateway, Kathleen Gens, [who also happens to be a part-time employee at Specialized Housing!] suggested that I try writing poetry to help me with my feelings. So I wrote my first poem. I remember my first poem well because it really touched my mom because the poem was about all of these feelings that I had kept inside for so many years, but I was able to express them through the poem.” 

Mike added that learning to write poetry has helped him express his feelings in a more mature way as an adult. “I used to get upset, yell, or even hit myself when I was angry, but writing poems has helped me be more like a normal adult with how I share my feelings.”

In addition to poetry, Mike has been drawing and writing stories for years. He used to enjoy drawing different faces and eyes, but lately, his drawings mainly focus on landscapes. Mike explained, “I’ve written several stories and books, and I’m currently developing a story about a fictional universe called Una.” Mike was willing to explain the general plot, but we both agreed that we didn’t want to give anything away for future readers of the story. 

We also asked Mike about the inspiration for his poems. He didn’t hesitate with an answer about his process, saying, “I honestly don’t always remember what inspires me. It’s usually if I have a strong feeling. Like if I’m sad, the poem is going to be sad or dark, and if I’m feeling happy, it’s usually going to be more hopeful—it’s really about how I’m feeling.”

Mike’s final words are good advice for the rest of us: “I think people need to enjoy what they like. I like writing stories, anime, and things like that, so that’s what I do. That’s the point I try to make with my writing. People need to relax and just be happy with those things that you enjoy in life.”

Below is Mike’s winning poem:

Untitled Poem by Mike Natale 

The world is not scary
You are safe
The world is what you make of it
You can be scared sad and lonely
Or you can try
Try to be happy
Try to see the good in the world
Because there is good
Even if you don’t see it
Where ever you are
I believe you can be calm too
I wish the world around can sometime bloom
Just remember now
The world is not scary
And you are safe