{"id":2705,"date":"2024-12-20T16:47:25","date_gmt":"2024-12-21T00:47:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/?p=2705"},"modified":"2025-01-08T09:16:26","modified_gmt":"2025-01-08T17:16:26","slug":"urban-forest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/urban-forest\/","title":{"rendered":"Urban Forest"},"content":{"rendered":" \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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\nUSC Dornsife Magazine<\/em> Creative Writing Contest Winner<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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 <\/p>\n

Urban Forest<\/h1>\n

By Sophia Hammerle<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a tree growing inside a street sign
\non 30th. A parking restriction with heartwood,
\ncambium, and bark enclosed by hollow metal.<\/p>\n

Wood bulges from the circular holes. Twigs
\nthrust out budding leaves. They\u2019ve sprayed it
\nwith herbicide like it\u2019s some kind of crime<\/p>\n

to survive in this city. Concrete, capitalism,
\nthe American dream. But I\u2019ve seen
\nthe floss silk trees growing along the I-10,<\/p>\n

their white puffs dangling down the highway.
\nI saw a wildfire there, once, too. And I know
\nthe Tree of Heaven blooms in August<\/p>\n

between slabs of pavement in vacant lots,
\nlike junkyard bougainvillea. After the earthquake,
\nthe news outlets ask did you feel it<\/p>\n

while I\u2019m still shaking. I watched
\nthe wooden joints of that old Victorian
\nturn to rubber and move like an alive thing,<\/p>\n

and I know the buildings downtown
\naren\u2019t up to code. But the apocalypse
\nhas already been done, already written,<\/p>\n

and some of us have dreams. Came here
\nfrom other places like cultivated trees.
\nMy secret is that in this state of Redwoods<\/p>\n

and Sequoias, it\u2019s the urban forest I loved first,
\nthe roots packed under dense concrete
\nunfurling their survival. Pollarded trees<\/p>\n

truncated into some sort of chainsaw sculpture.
\nIn Pasadena, there\u2019s a Mexican fan palm
\ngrowing in a horizontal arc across a front yard.<\/p>\n

I saw a coyote there, saw roots erupting through the sidewalk.
\nOn the interstate, I keep sticking my head out the window
\nto be closer to the trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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About the Winner<\/h2>\n

A senior from Friendswood, Texas, majoring in narrative studies<\/a> and gender and sexuality studies<\/a>, Sophia Hammerle<\/strong> says she discovered her passion for creative writing at USC Dornsife. Her interest in environmental storytelling led her to participate in a creative writing class last summer that produced a digital poetry chapbook in collaboration with the USC Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability<\/a>. She is currently working on a creative project with the USC Arts and Climate Collective<\/a> on the theme of urban nature.<\/p>\n

Hammerle wrote her winning poem, \u201cUrban Forest,\u201d in Los Angeles\u00a0in the immediate wake of a 4.4 magnitude earthquake last August. \u201cThe poem explores the disruption and resilience of street trees as a powerful lens through which to reimagine the way we see nature in urban spaces,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Currently a poetry editor at Palaver<\/em><\/a>, USC\u2019s online arts magazine, Hammerle plans to pursue an MFA in creative writing after graduating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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From the Judges<\/h2>\n

In \u2018Urban Forest,\u2019 Sophia Hammerle details the beauty of California\u00a0with stunning imagery, showing us how nature and city spaces intertwine to create mysterious and dreamy new worlds of discovery, resilience and possibility.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dana Johnson<\/strong>, chair and Florence R. Scott Professor of English<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Enter the next contest <\/polygon><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\n USC Dornsife Magazine<\/em> Creative Writing Contest Runner-up\n <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n
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\n USC Dornsife Magazine\n <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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Fall 2024 \/ Winter 2025<\/h2>\n

California<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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