About the Exhibits: Stephen Dunn has touched the hearts of many of his fans with his intimate and personable works, especially his poetry. In part, his poetry depicts the minutiae of daily life, and the challenges that exist in navigating the tedious and sometimes exciting aspects of the American middle class, ranging from individual to married and divorced life and other familial relations. This archive is dedicated to what lays behind the magnificent poet--his life, trials and tribulations, his fans, their dedication to him, and his poetry. So, with the help of Hofstra Special Collections’ Dunn Collection, this exhibit will focus on each of these aspects of Dunn’s life, examining how each can contribute to and be reflective of the different shades of Stephen Dunn. Furthermore, as a way to represent the many layers of Dunn and to some degree his compartmentalized life, we've created six exhibits to reflect each aspect of Dunn. Separately, each exhibit provides just a little taste to the many-layered cake that is Dunn's life, but together each exhibit provides some insight into and a unique perspective on his multifaceted world. Hence, it is like Dunn's speaker mentions in the poem "A Secret Life" , "Even when you speak to your best friend / you always leave out one thing / a secret life is that important" (Dunn).