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Emily Keenan: Writing Samples

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Writing samples by Emily Keenan
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Emily Keenan Writing Samples
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Page 1: Emily Keenan: Writing Samples

Emily Keenan

Writing Samples

Page 2: Emily Keenan: Writing Samples

The Terrarium Obituary

How can you take a terrible situation and turn it into a creative opportunity?

In a course entitled Aesthetics of Sustainability, each student was required to plant a terrarium and become its caretaker over the course of the semester. When my own had died by midterms, despite my best e�orts, I chose to commemorate its short existence in writing.

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Late night on Tuesday, November 13th, 2012, The Dichotosphere, featuring Murray the Scotch

Moss and Manuel the Ornamental Pepper Plant was pronounced dead near 26th and University in Minneapolis, MN. The causes of death are natural, but tragic in their onset. The dichotosphere was aged 6 weeks and 2 days.

The terrarium came to life on the 30th of September, 2012, through the work of George Green III and his granddaughter and loving caretaker of The Dichotosphere, Emily Keenan. Throughout its short life, it brought a smile to many faces, people often admiring its lovely glass container.

An unfortunate rift happened inside the glass walls when Murray and Manuel had a disagreement over moisture level. For weeks they fought, when Murray finally won due to an unfortunate fruit fly infestation on the 19th of October, 2012, that required a prolonged period of capping. Manuel wilted in anger and, in an attempt to save face, their caretaker uncapped their home one last time. Murray did not respond kindly and tragically lost his will to hold on, finally drying out to extinction on the 3rd of November, 2012. From then on, The Dichotosphere was not the same.

OBITUARIESThe Dichotosphere

The Dichotosphere.

Shortly afterwards, Manuel began losing his own will. He had already been severely damaged in the brutal argument between himself and Murray, now deceased, and was holding onto his last pepper. His leaves continued to wilt and pucker, despite the best efforts of all of his loved ones, and he tragically slipped away on the 11th of November, 2012, turning the lovely terrarium into a haunting urn. Both Murray and Manuel will be missed dearly by those who knew them and cared for them.

The Dichotosphere is survived by its loving caretaker Emily Keenan (21), devoted roommate Mortimer the Tortimer (6 weeks and 2 days), and grieving aunt, Hallie Keenan (26). It will also be remembered fondly by its lifelong companion George “Budd” Green (84), and endlessly supportive compatriots, Bill, Dawn, and Thomas Keenan (59, 56, 29).

A memorial service will be held at 2600 Southeast University Avenue #313 in Minneapolis on the 17th of November 2012. There will be a replanting in The Dichotosphere’s honor of a plant that is more receptive to low light situations and not dependent upon the needs of another, dissimilar plant.

In lieu of gifts or flowers, the loved ones request donations to Urban Sprouts, in support of garden-based education.

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HyundaiSpeculative Campaign

Role: Design, Planning, and Copy

Big Idea: Life is hard.Make the commute your time.

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SchwinnSpeculative Campaign

Role: Design, Planning, and Copy

Big Idea: Some moments only exist on a bicycle. That’s Schwinning.

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Stills from Commercial

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Kindred Spirits Winery

How can words make North Dakota winessound appealing?

Kindred Spirits, a budding winery in North Dakota, wanted copy for future information packets, newsletters, and marketing materials.

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Kindred Spirits Winery

Communications Story

The People

Although husband and wife Neil Neddermeyer and Julie Ottis are both in

the early stages of retirement, they are working harder than ever. For the past

few years, they have been diligently trying to reinvent North Dakota wines. Both

have been avid winedrinkers for years. Now, they are channeling their love for

the drink in a new way—owning and operating their own vineyard. Neil, a retired

deputy sheriff and ordained minister, has been associating with the scientists at

the University of Minnesota in order to discover the most fruitful grapes that can

survive the Midwestern winter, and learn how to best tend to them in his own

vineyard. Julie, a retired theatre director and schoolteacher, volunteers there as

well, studying oenology with the University. Through this, she has become

highly skilled in the craft of quality winemaking. The two work in tandem to

create the unique and high quality wines that come out of their vineyard.

Unlike most other Midwestern winemakers, Neil and Julie are dedicated

to making true wine, entirely from these specially tailored grapes. You won’t

find any fruit wines in their bottles. However, their wine is not for the wine snobs,

looking for the most lavish and expensive wine in the store. It is a universal

wine: made with passion, knowledge, and a dash of good humor. These are the

kind of people that make wine the right way for the right reasons—who have

embraced their hobby so fully and sincerely that it has truly become their

lifestyle—making good wine and making good memories. Now, they want to

share it with you.

The Place

Their winery, Kindred Spirits, is located just outside of Kindred, North

Dakota, a small town of 600 people located southwest of Fargo. It was founded

in the late 19th century, on the edge of the scenic Red River Valley. This is home

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to some of the most fertile land in the entire nation. The galumphing hills and

expansive skies are a view not soon forgotten. Slightly closer to the vineyard

lies the Sheyenne River, which has a rich agricultural history that the Kindred

Spirits Vineyard is rooted in.

At the turn of the century, the Ottis family bought the farmland from a

Native American tribe in exchange for one heifer. Since then, it has stayed in

the family, generation after generation. Neil and Julie, as the current owners,

both inherited and bought their beautiful 650 acres of land. While they do rent

out much of it to other growers, they leave a select section for their own grapes.

They cultivate three separate types of grapes, each engineered by the University

of Minnesota and a hybrid of other grape families. Right now, they are growing

to see which will work best on their land and which will ultimately produce the

highest quality wine. In addition to their vineyard, they have an exquisite granary

for tours and tastings.

The area around the vineyard is quaint and picturesque; the small town

has its own special charm. It is one square mile, and lives by its slogan—“where

kindness is a way of life”.

The Product

Kindred Spirits offers four different types of wine. Their two white wines

are Le Crescent and Prairie Star; their two red wines are Frontenac and

Marquette.

Le Crescent is a hybrid of St. Pepin, Vitis riparia, and Muscat Hamburg

wines. It has an intense aroma of peach, citrus, and apricot, and has proven to

be an excellent dessert wine. It was introduced in 2002, and remains one of the

best Midwest friendly grapes available.

Prairie Star grapes have been more established with North Dakota

winemakers than Le Crescent. Its flavor is full and floral, and although it is often

used to mix with other white wines, when grown and fermented correctly it can

create a delicious white wine.

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The first usable wine grape to have come out of the University was

Frontenac. This grape is a hybrid of Vitis riparia and Landot, a French hybrid.

This grape is becoming increasingly popular with winegrowers, commonly

planted in the Midwest. The wine’s deep garnet color and distinctive cherry

aroma compliment its blackberry and black current flavor nicely. It creates both

rose and red wines well.

The Marquette grape is a hybrid that is actually created by cross-

pollinating two different hybrids. It is one of the most promising wine grapes to

come out of the grape research the University of Minnesota. It is also one of the

most recent, only having been developed in June 2010. Cold hardy and unique

in flavor, Marquette grapes have proven to make exquisite wines. It is a cherry

or berry flavor that surprises you with a slight taste of black pepper, with a

sparkly finish.

The Goals

While Neil and Julie are just starting out, they already have larger plans

for their small vineyard. They have been cultivating and perfecting their grapes

for three years so far, using their own unique skills they have learned. While

testing and producing their wines, they wish to develop the best possible

product. In fact, if a bottle is bad they will not even sell it (although they may still

drink it themselves.) What goes to the consumer is the absolute peak of North

Dakota wine perfection. They hope to sell their wines straight out of the

vineyard in as little as one to two years, as well as offer vineyard tours and

tastings on weekends.

During their growth, as they build up their own little wine empire, they

wish to encourage people to reinterpret Midwest wines, proving that, when

made correctly, a Midwest wine can be just as delicious as a California wine or

even an Italian wine. As the only estate winery in North Dakota, they are

essentially creating their own industry and challenging the way people think of

wine.

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In the future, they hope to expand their budding venture to various

restaurants in nearby cities, such as Fargo and Moorhead. When someone

looks at the wine list in one of these restaurants, they will know that Kindred

Spirits is made locally, great tasting, and made with character.


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