{"id":3598,"date":"2025-12-18T16:02:29","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T00:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/?p=3598"},"modified":"2026-03-16T17:36:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T00:36:04","slug":"cwc-winner-genealogy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/cwc-winner-genealogy\/","title":{"rendered":"Genealogy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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\n\n \n Creative writing contest winner Micah Owens\u2019 is pursuing a master\u2019s in literary editing and publishing through USC Dornsife\u2019s Progressive Degree Program. (Photo: Courtesy of Micah Owens.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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Genealogy<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n December 18, 2025<\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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There are over 108,000 immigration records bearing my last name.
\nMy roots don\u2019t reach back to any of them.
\nHome holds no weight when you\u2019re transplanted time and time again until
\nyou look nothing like
\nyou used to.
\nI can survive the unknown
\nbut I\u2019ll never understand it
\nor call it my own.
\nMy father moved six times growing up,
\nand now I have known four countries across two continents:
\nsome full of dust, empty pockets, and bright smiles,
\nothers shiny shoes, masks, and entitlement;
\nand yet not a single home.<\/span><\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t remember the legacy, either.
\nMaybe that\u2019s why it wasn\u2019t passed down to me.
\nMaybe that\u2019s why I\u2019m 21 and know nothing about who I\u2019m supposed to be,
\nbecause I can\u2019t build from severed history,
\nheritage gathering dust
\nin the graves of our forefathers.<\/span><\/p>\n

All I have is my father\u2019s name,
\nroots straining behind it,
\nreaching for nothing.
\nFrom the Welsh Owain, it means \u201cyoung warrior.\u201d
\nI suppose I have been fighting my whole life
\nto reclaim parts of myself left behind
\nthat prove I come from something
\ngreater than myself.
\nBecause what is the point of a name
\nif you don\u2019t live up to it?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo forget one\u2019s ancestors
\nis to be a brook without a source,
\na tree without a root.\u201d
\nSo I will plant myself anew
\nagain,
\nuntil the unknown becomes
\nhome,
\nand my children
\nhave a history
\nto write themselves into.<\/span><\/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

Micah Owens \u201926 is a creative writing major who is pursuing an M.A. in literary editing and publishing through USC Dornsife\u2019s Progressive Degree Program. Born into a devout Christian family in Adrian, Michigan, he moved to Kenya with his family when he was 10. He spent the next eight years at boarding school there before returning to the United States to attend USC Dornsife.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing overseas gave me a better understanding of other perspectives and broadened my worldview,\u201d Owens says. \u201cThat fostered a desire to write.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Why USC Dornsife<\/h3>\n

Owens says he chose USC Dornsife in order to study under renowned writers such as Percival Everett and Robin Coste Lewis. \u201cI knew I had stories to tell but hadn\u2019t found the voice for them, and so I needed to learn from those who had. USC Dornsife was the place for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Inspiration<\/h3>\n

His autobiographical poem, \u201cGenealogy,\u201d was written in a poetry workshop during his junior year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe poem grapples with feeling cut off from your history but finding solace in the fact that you can start the legacy anew,\u201d Owens says.<\/p>\n

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A Promising Start<\/h3>\n

Owens\u2019 poetry has appeared in USC Dornsife\u2019s online student publication, Palaver Arts Magazine<\/em>, while his one-act play, Death Goes on a Date<\/em>, was staged by Brand New Theatre, a USC student theatre organization. After graduating, he plans to pursue a career in publishing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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From the Judges:<\/h3>\n

Micah Owens\u2019 \u2018Genealogy\u2019 is a deep, hopeful and far-reaching consideration of identity, reminding us that our roots can guide us, but they don\u2019t define us. Our power is in defining ourselves.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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