Frank Warren, the creator of the PostSecret phenomenon, held an event at West Chester University last September about the roles secrets play in people’s lives. His new book, “PostSecret Confessions on Life, Death, and God,” continues to reveal the raw emotions and similarities everyone seems to share. Warren was available on the release date of his new book, which is his fifth.
Q: First of all, thank you again for coming to WCU last September. Are there any PostSecret events that stick out in your mind as most memorable?
A: You know, the one I just had at Binghamton in New York was pretty memorable. I’m trying to introduce some new secrets and new stories so that people who come back see something a little bit different, in addition to the secrets that students share and I think it’s starting to come together in a new, more meaningful way.
Q: “PostSecret Confessions on Life, Death, and God” is your fifth book. How have you seen the Post Secret project progress from your first book, PostSecret, to this new book?
A: Well, early on in the project it felt more like a lark or a prank even, but as time has passed, and I’ve received hundreds of thousands of postcards, the project has taken on much more meaning for me, and I think that’s one of the reasons the latest book is called “PostSecret Confessions on Life, Death, and God.”
Q: Are you as crawling with excitement for this new book as you were with the first release?
A: It’s a complicated relationship because it’s really important to me that I get it right, so I’m quite a perfectionist over which secrets go in and how they’re arranged. And before I get started, I know how tormenting that can be, having to get it just right.
I feel this great sense of responsibility, so it’s always a great relief when that process is over.
Actually, today I was just going through the book and yesterday and seeing the postcards and really, in a way for the first time, feeling a great sense of accomplishment by being able to allow these postcards to speak and these untold stories to be shared, and I’m very proud of that part.
Q: You said in a video for the PostSecret Event Tour 2009 that you like to create a place that takes people out of their everyday lives just for a moment so they can feel free and open with themselves. Do you think the act of exchanging secrets has a religious connotation? After all, you do post secrets on Sundays.
A: I think there’s something spiritual about PostSecret, certainly not exclusively though. There’s a lot of humor and a lot of sexuality and joy and anguish, but there is something substantial and soulful too, and I think that comes through quite a bit in the latest book.
Q: Have you received any criticism from religious groups due to some of the secrets you have posted?
A: It’s pretty rare. Sometimes I’ll receive a message that’s something like “Jesus is the only one you should tell your secrets to” or something like that. But PostSecret isn’t trying to replace anything. It’s not supposed to be like the new confessional or the new psychiatrist couch. It’s just this additional way that people can share their secrets artistically, if they choose to.
Q: You are considered the “most trusted stranger in America,” and this new book truly shows how accepting you are of people of any religion and background. Do you ever feel pressure to live up to that label?
A: Well, I feel a great deal of, I don’t want to say “pressure,” but I feel like it’s a great honor that so many strangers have trusted me with something they would never share with a family member or friend. So, for me it’s very important that I protect that purity and that relationship. And I do feel a lot of pressure not to do things that screw-up that trust.
Q: Why do you think college students make up such a large percentage of your target audience?
A: I think a couple of reasons. I think it’s very easy for young people to share their passions with their classmates and friends online, so ideas for projects share quickly like that.
I also, too, think young people are at a point in their life where they’re honestly searching for what’s authentic and what’s (bull). And I think that makes their lives more vital and more interesting. And I believe too, that when you’re young, it’s easier to be trying to find who you are rather than trying to project an image of who you are.
Q: PostSecret and the PostSecret Community is a great place for people to escape. Did you have a place like that growing up, whether it be music or what not?
A: Yeah, I wouldn’t say it was a place to “escape,” but I would say that punk music and also new wave music, bands like The Clash and The Talking Heads, allowed me to feel like in my small town, there was this broader world out there where it was possible to find people that had sensibilities as I did.
Q: Part of your job requires you to formulate the postcards into a book. What books were you a fan of growing up?
A: I liked “Catcher in the Rye.” I liked “1984.” I liked “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.” These are all books that made a big impact on me. “Fountainhead.” And not the movie, but “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” as well.
Q: You have based your profession on having people tell you their darkest secrets. If you could anonymously tell anyone in the world one of your secrets, who would it be and why?
A: I think I would like to share secrets with myself, like, who I was when I was a kid. Like maybe as a kid, I could share secrets with myself as an adult and vice versa. That would be great.
Q: Could you ever tell that a secret belonged to someone you know?
A: Yeah, my daughter tried to submit one of her secrets one time. I caught that. And so did my wife-my wife shared this secret and tried to get it on the web: “I want to sleep with Richard Gere.” I pulled that one pretty quick.
Q: Most people send their secrets through postcards, but what was the most unusual item on which you’ve seen a secret? I remember seeing one on a potato and a banana, I think.
A: Yes, boy, I’ve received them on so many items-naked Polaroid pictures, seashells, sonograms, wedding invitations. People can be very creative.
I’ve received more than one on cell phones, and I don’t know how to read the text functions. One time I got six secrets, each one written on one side of a Rubik’s Cube, and then, all scrambled, but I figured it out. I can’t solve a Rubik’s Cube, but I can solve each side independently, so I was able to read all the secrets.
Q: Do you know how long it has been since you had a day with an empty mailbox?
A: I can’t remember the last empty mailbox. It only happens when I check it too early, which actually, it’s pretty frequent because I really enjoy getting the mail every day.
Q: You said in your Today Show interview that you are looking for a way to share the stories of secrets on television or film. Should we expect a PostSecret movie in the future?
A: That’s an open question because I’ve had to say no to a lot of ideas that weren’t right, and so, I don’t know. I’m not going to do it unless I can do it right. I feel it’s so important to retain the integrity of the project. I’m not in any rush. If we can’t do it right, I won’t do it.
“PostSecret Confessions on Life, Death, and God” is now available.
Carol Fritz is a student at West Chester University. He can be reached at CF716022@wcupa.edu.