ktravula – a travelogue!

To Tell Or Not To Tell

I have just returned from a talk by Frank Warren, author of PostSecret.com at the Meridian Ballroom at SIUE. He has been called “The Most Trusted Stranger in America”, and for a good reason. He collects postcards from strangers all over the country who post them to him anonymously with their deeply held secrets written on them like an artwork. PostSecret.com is described as a community arts project. He has published four books, and another one is upcoming.

scan0045The highlight of the talk was a chance for audience members to express themselves back to the speaker, and many used the medium to tell secrets never before revealed. It was such an emotional moment, listening to the women especially, who mostly couldn’t complete their confessions without bursting into tears. A student confessed that she blamed herself for the death of a baby boy because she couldn’t get to him on time. Another one confessed to having felt better after sharing an earlier secret about sleeping disorders. The one that got the most laugh and applause was from a confessed kleptomaniac who confessed to having obtained all of Frank’s books by thieving. One other student confessed to having used a fake ID to come to the event, while another one came out just to express his deepest wonder at why God would spare his life from a horrible car accident and take that of a friend of his who died in a similar but different accident. In a response to a question about whether he ever thought that some of the secrets sent to him are untrue, sent only to manipulate, the visiting author replied that he saw all the postcards on which the secrets were written first as artworks, then later as medium of communication.It was a nice show, which I’m glad I attended. I got one of his books, titled “The Secret Lives of Men and Women”, and I also got it signed.

Here are some of the secrets from the book:

  • Every time I’m alone in an elevator, I take the opportunity to pass gas, pick my nose, and adjust my bra.
  • I long to go fishing with my ex-husband
  • When I was young I used to hate my body… Now that I’m older, I know better. I’m HOT!
  • I should have been more of a slut while I still had the chance.
  • Every day I contemplate suicide. And if you knew why, you’d want me dead too.

However I did not make it up to the microphone to ask my questions, or share any deeply held secret to a crowd of almost a thousand students. Why? Well, let that be the secret: because I was afraid that even though I didn’t need the applause, I might feel awkward if the applause for me was less than for the other guys who had more juicy tales to tell the crowd, and more tears to shed. However, I will send Frank an email tonight to let him have my secret. Had I gone up the mic, I could also have asked this question, among others: how does he sleep at night?

PS: According to Wikipedia, “with permission from Frank Warren, a French version of PostSecret was launched in October 2007 under the name PostSecretFrance and in February 2008, a German version was started as PostSecret auf Deutsch. There is also one in Spanish called Los Secretos Dominicales and now a Chinese version 邮寄你的秘密 PostSecretChina. The Chinese blog is not officially affiliated with PostSecret.”

To Tell Or Not To Tell was published on September 29th, 2009, with the tags , , , , under the adventures, Art category. There are currently 2 comments on this article so far.

Buzzing News

Here are a few new things buzzing in ktravula’s universe at the moment.

A Travula Interview

Last week, I sat down for an e-interview with a Nigerian-based literary blog Bookaholic for questions ranging from my influences to opinions on matters of literacy in Nigeria as well as my impressions about the Fulbright FLTA programme. If you ask me those same questions tomorrow, there is no doubt that I might answer them a little differently. When I was asked about my most treasured possession, my first choice of response was “My brain, then my laptop, iPod, camera, and bicycle – in that order.” Check out the interview here, and please leave comments if you can..

PosterFrank Warren at SIUE

What would a man once referred to as “The Most Trusted Stranger in America”, Frank Warren of PostSecret.com and Postsecret.blogspot.com be coming to do at SIUE as a guest speaker on the 29th September? That’s the big secret (no pun intended). “PostSecret is a sight that originated from a community art project based on a simple concept: asking people to anonymously send a secret on a decorated postcard. Since November 2004, Warren has received more than 400,000 postcards, with secrets spanning from sexual taboos and criminal activity to confessions of secret beliefs, hidden acts of kindness, shocking habits and fears.” I have been the website, and seen some really weird, quirky, funny and revealing secrets of people pasted anonymously there. What drives a man that handles such a project that encourages people to tell it all? How does he sleep at night?  He’s surely gonna be an intriguing person to hear, and I look forward to the programme. Is there something particularly you want to know about him and about PostSecret? Send them to me.

A Birthday Wish

It’s my birthday on Tuesday the 22nd, and I’m trying my hands on selflessness. I’ve made a little birthday wish: to help raise money for cancer research. There are too many causalities for a disease that should by now have got a cure. Check out the donations page on Facebook Causes here, where you can donate whatever you can afford to the Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

For my birthday, I intend to spend the evening at Rudy’s place in company of a few international students as well as some American friends. I don’t have recollection of many personal birthday party celebrations while I was growing up, but I do have a few pictures though that show evidence of such a time when I was allowed to have child moments with my young friends and playmates, eating cakes and candy and being generally jolly, but I don’t remember any of those times. I was too young to remember. Birthday was synonymous with partying, and cakes, and it was always called “the Birthday” (or “Baiday/byeday,” depending on how many tooth gaps are in the mouth of the little kids doing the pronunciation). Rudy has promised cakes, food and drinks. Oh well, I can’t complain. One day in the future, I’d look back at the very few birthday pictures I have, and say: “Oh yes indeed, I was young and fun once.”

Buzzing News was published on September 20th, 2009, with the tags , , , , , , under the Fun, News category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.