Celebrate author, artist and alumna Freda Epum’s new memoirThe Gloomy Girl Variety Show

Wednesday, April 16 @ 7:30 The Great Hall, Harris Hall

Named one of The Chicago Review’s Most Anticipated Books of 2025!

In the luminous, formally inventive memoir THE GLOOMY GIRL VARIETY SHOW, Freda Epum interrogates ideas of home and safety as a Black woman with mental illness. Epum’s genius is her ability to weave lyric fragments, cultural and political criticism, and her own photographs and art into an incisive, cohesive constellation. This work, like her journey, is “both festering and healing”. I have been waiting for a book like this all my life. –Jami Nakamura Lin, author of The Night Parade

Where? In the Harris Hall Great Hall, 500 Harris Drive, Oxford, OH 45056

Mark your calendars! Freda Epum, a Miami alumna, will be reading from her recently released memoir, The Gloomy Girl Variety Show on April 16th at 7:30 p.m. in the Harris Great Hall. The book covers topics such as race, illness, and belonging. Epum will also answer questions about her creative process and experiences.

Freda received her MFA from Miami University and is currently a Presidential Fellow in the University of Cincinnati’s PhD program. She co-authored the Black American Tree Project and has received numerous awards and accolades, including recognition from the Ohio Humanities Council and the Ohio Arts Council.

Read more about Epum and her works on her website: http://www.fredaepum.com/about.html