Athena Lund

Photo Editor

Everyone has a secret, no matter the size or the content. Even if they may be deep or just silly, Frank Warren has heard too many to count. Frank Warren is the creator of a ongoing art project called PostSecret.
People write, type, or paste their secret to a postcard that is decorated to however the confessor chooses to portray it. They are mini-works of art that can be a form of closure or confession.
“If it helps people, it’s a wonderful thing” said Frank Warren. People send their post cards to his home in Washington, D.C., in which he reads every one. On the Sunday of every week, Warren  picks 10 to 20 of them to post on his blog.
PostSecret began in 2005 when Warren wandered the streets handing out 3,000 self-addressed postcards to strangers, asking them to mail back a secret anonymously. He only received a little over 100 back the first couple weeks, and that’s when he thought he was done, but “the idea spread in a viral way,” he said.
Post cards started to fill up his mail box and that’s when he thought of the idea of sharing them on a blog, since they were all anonymous anyways.
He has become an award-winning blogger and a famous author. He has published five different books, starting with PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives, in which came out December 1, 2005. Almost exactly one year later in 2006, My Secret: A PostSecret Book came out and on January 9, 2007, The Secret Lives of Men and Women was published. Shortly after, A Lifetime of Secrets came out and Frank Warren’s newest and best selling book was Confessions on Life, Death, & God which was released on October 6, 2009.
Frank Warren has even gotten a chance to have a traveling exhibit and many secrets even appeared in the music video “Dirty Little Secret” by The All-American Rejects. Senior Kayla Schulte visited the Minnesota exhibit that was displayed at the Minneapolis Public Library back in 2008. “There were over 2,000 postcards hanging on the walls, in books, and in video slide shows,” Schulte said, “it was really interesting seeing the real secrets in person.”
PostSecret.com has blown up and Frank Warren is now getting around 1,000 post cards a week. “I’ve been surprised every step of the way,” Warren says. “I’m just a typical suburban husband. I’m an accidental artist. It’s been quite a journey, quite an adventure.”
“People are drawn to this because it’s something powerful and real that speaks to them,” Warren said.

He also claimed that this project is inspirational to those who read them, they have healing powers for those who write them, give hope to people who identify with a stranger’s secret, and create an anonymous community of acceptance.
“I check the blog every Sunday and I own two of the books,” said senior Sam Stahlmann, “what I like most about PostSecret is that you can find a post card with your same exact secret as yours and you don’t feel so alone anymore. It allows you to connect to strangers on a completely different level.”
To many fans of PostSecret, Warren is a hero, since he uses the platform to fight against suicide. Warren has been a  volunteer for Hopeline for many years and PostSecret has raised thousands of dollars for Hopeline.
PostSecret has won two Webby Awards in 2006 and this year was named Weblog of the Year at the Seventh Annual Weblog Awards.
Some secrets are heartbreaking, some are funny, some are touching or shocking and repulsive. No matter the secret, Warren has received more than 150,000 anonymous postcards since 2005. It is a piece of collaborative art that has made a big impact on many fans of PostSecret and seems to be only growing.