Frank Warren knows the deepest, darkest secrets of more than 400,000 people around the country. On Oct. 20, he is coming to Syracuse University to dish on all of them.

Warren is the creator of PostSecret, a blog that allows anyone to anonymously send in postcards with secrets written on them. Warren is also the author of The New York Times bestselling book ‘PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives.’

University Union Performing Arts, a subdivision of UU, is hosting a book signing and 90-minute presentation as part of Warren’s 2010 fall tour. The speech and signing, titled ‘Frank Warren: The Most Trusted Stranger in America,’ starts at 8 p.m. in the Goldstein Auditorium in Schine Student Center. The doors open at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets for the event cost $3 for students, $5 for faculty and staff, and $7 for the general public. Faculty and students can buy tickets starting Monday, while the general public can purchase tickets Sept. 27. Tickets can be bought at the Schine Box Office and at the box office website.

In the past, UU’s Performing Arts division brought acts like Andy Samberg, Lewis Black and Common to campus. Warren will be speaking about his experiences starting the website and the importance of having a means to communicate secrets, said UU President Andrew Beyda.

‘He has a focus, I believe, on suicide prevention,’ he said. ‘Which if you think about it, ties into the website, the fact that we keep so many secrets from each other, and we are kind of absorbed in our digital life, which makes it hard to reach out sometimes.’

Unlike survey-generated on-campus concerts like Block Party, the idea to bring Warren to SU originated within UU leadership. The event is unique and may feel a bit different from a show by the average comedian, Beyda said.

‘I think that given the nature of the event, there are certainly going to be some overtones that are more serious in nature, that have meaning and that have purpose,’ Beyda said.

The blog, which has over 360 million views, posts pictures of the postcards received from anonymous sources. It has been featured on MSNBC, FOX, CNN and ‘Today Show.’

‘It’s definitely an event that we think is unique in terms of what’s being offered on campus so far and what’s been brought to campus in recent years,’ Beyda said. ‘We’ve known about the event for a while. We’re excited to get the word out. We’re buzzing with interest, and we hope that soon the campus will be, too.’

akgould@syr.edu

 

Published on September 19, 2010 at 12:00 pm