Feldman's Events

Photo by Allie Boland

Feldman's Books is now hosting small, intimate events featuring local artists.

Join us!

Feldman's Books Writing Group

Come write with us! Practice your craft in a supportive environment.

Gwen will host every 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month, from 11 to noon.

Yes, it's free!

Contact Gwen at gwen @ feldmansbooks.net.


Introducing CommonPlace Classroom: The tool for English Teachers

Join us for an extraordinary event at the bookstore. As a part of Teacher Appreciation Week, we're celebrating the arrival of CommonPlace: a new tool for English teachers.

CommonPlace is an app for iPads and smartphones that emphasizes a text-first and discussion-based Learning experience. Through CommonPlace, teachers host classrooms where students post annotations, along with the relevant quotes, directly into the app, where other students can view and engage with their classmates' insights. Through CommonPlace, teachers encourage a text-first approach, creating student-led discussions, enhancing interactions outside of class.

Educators and students in attendance get a 20% discount all evening.

Join us for a free evening of wine, music, and a presentation of this new technology, as well as a brief discussion of the obstacles faced by English teachers and students in developing literacy skills.


The Chris Sor Jazz Combo and LuDog Records

The Chris Sor Jazz Combo, who has played several times here before, returns from 4-6pm to offer a little jazz music. They are a group of Stanford physics students. Chris Sor is a senior this year, and plays both bass and guitar. Michael Robertson is also a senior this year, and plays trombone. Aaron Breidenbach is a PHD student, and is the percussionist for the group. Roman Dimov is also a senior like Chris and Michael, and holds everyone together on the piano.

Then, from 6-7pm, Aaron Thurlow of LuDog Records, who consigns albums at Feldman's Books, joins us to discuss his life passion of collecting vinyl. He will bring a record player up on stage and play some tracks for us, discussing the qualities and eccentricities of this classic medium, as well as the lost art of collecting records!

Stoic Book Club #5

This month we will be discussing Marcus Aurelius's classic work Meditations for the second time. Meditations is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from AD 161 to 180, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the Meditations in Koine Greek as a source for his own guidance and self-improvement.


Gwen Minor Presents: The Iliad, the Odyssey & the Aeneid, in Ten Minutes

Feldman’s Books’s team member Gwen Minor, author of Read-Aloud Plays: The Iliad, The Odyssey, and the Aeneid offers a presentation about ancient storytelling. Come and call down the gods through classic stories at Feldman’s Books.

Florence Lienhard from the classics department of Université Paris Nanterre and Stanford University with recitations from Homer in ancient Greek.


Feldman’s Books 28th Birthday Party featuring multiple bands

Come celebrate Feldman’s Saturn Return celebration of 28 years with Robert Powell, Susie McKee, and friends from multiple bands in the community.


Redtone Records Presents Artist Soji Odukogbe

Local label RedTone Records, hosted by Justin Phipps, presents West African Highlife and Afrobeat Dance Party with Soji Odukogbe.

Nigerian artist Soji Odukogbe, former guitarist for Fela Kuti, will be performing West African Highlife and Afrobeat.

Devotees of Feldman’s Dance Parties take note—this is the ultimate dance party music!


Classical Guitarist Abishir Miller

Classical Guitarist Abishir Miller will join us for a late afternoon concert featuring a classic repertoire of Bach, Segovia, and many others. Come and browse for books and enjoy the beauty of springtime.

Afterwards, some of us will head across the street together to Kepler's Books to hear novelist Colm Tóibín present on his new work "Long Island."


On Bullshit

A Critical appreciation of a classic American polemic. Almost two decades ago, Harry G. Frankfurt published On Bullshit, a work of analytical philosophy that suggests “bullshitters” exist in a category worse than liars. Join us for a discussion of language, communication, and truth in a time when lying and bullshit bleeds into our everyday private and public life. People interested in the Stoic book club and philosophy discussions are encouraged to join. 


Singer Kate Lamont

Born in the UK, singer Kate Lamont tried to hide her Indiana roots until the heartland inevitably laid the groundwork for her love of collaboration & songwriting. In 2020, Lamont released Konkrete Violet with Mani Draper and NOBL.

Lamont’s vision of music as a unifying force continues to fuel songs about truth, empowerment, spirituality, and vulnerability, with lyrics connecting the dots from personal experiences to the great social issues of our time.


Jazz with Colin Hamilton Returns

Colin Hamilton will perform jazz piano, vocals, and violin. Colin has been performing in Northern California and beyond for over three decades.  He appears frequently in the Bay Area as a pianist, vocalist, and string player.  Don't miss an afternoon solo performance of tasteful vocal and piano renditions of American Songbook classics a la Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Thelonious Monk, and others.  Have a look at Colin's website for more information about him.

Playing with Poetry: Having Fun with Meter & Rhyme

The use of meter and rhyme is unique to poetry; they are two of its most powerful tools. If prose is a form of carpentry, then poetry can be called joinery: no nails, no glue, words held together by sonic forces which can appear magical until you master them—or at least play with them—yourself.

Join Kate Adams to play some games with lines, stanzas, quatrains experimenting with the building blocks of formal poetry. You will leave with your own stanza in hand, and a new appreciation of the rhythms of words.

Born and reared in San Francisco, in a Victorian mansion her father liked to call Mad Manor, Kate Adams has been writing since the age of twelve, when her first short story came to her, filling page after page of a very surprised notebook. Since then, she has maintained a daily writing practice, manifested mostly in sonnet forms. A language lover, she currently has fun teaching Spanish at a private school in San Mateo.


BeatleSong

Come sing with us!

An acoustic version of BeatleSong, a band collective of Beatles-loving musicians, will host an all-Beatles singalong on Saturday at Feldman's, from 3-5pm, playing from a setlist of your favorite popular, and some less popular, songs. All feature terrific harmonies, so if you love finding that Paul McCartney part, or prefer John, or just love George, or adore Ringo's rare singing, we'll have songs and harmonies for you!

BeatleSong hosts for the singalong are Palo Altans Cindy Nelson and Dennis Maggard, who are both huge Beatles fans, and play in a band called "Harmony Loves Company" for Bread and Roses, on their front porch, and with a larger Beatles cover band that performed recently in the Campbell Farmers Market, and in Palo Alto at the First Thursday music festival.


Love is Love by Maryclare McCauley

Love and death are natural and mysterious events in life that can happen anytime. This is a true story about a surprise encounter with a stranger who was found dying on a busy sidewalk. The unusual and stressful situation ironically gave the gift of love and connection to the strangers, and an almost perfect ending.


Join us to hear Maryclare's story at the bookstore.


Dance Party at Feldman’s Books

“We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once.”

— Nietzsche.

Come and hang out and dance in the bookstore. We'll lower the lights, turn up the volume and have some fun. Join us, will you?


Stoic Book Club #4

"Shop Class as Soulcraft" by Matthew B. Crawford. Join us for a discussion of a local author's work, a contemporary stoic voice, and friend of the community. On both economic and psychological grounds, author Matthew B. Crawford questions the educational imperative of turning everyone into a “knowledge worker,” based on a misguided separation of thinking from doing. Using his own experience as an electrician and mechanic, Crawford presents a wonderfully articulated call for self-reliance and a moving reflection on how we can live concretely in an ever more abstract world.


Kyle Alden and Henry Nagle

Folk songs, original songs and guitar picking! Kyle Alden will be joined by guitar wizard Henry Nagle for this show! Plus it's Kyle’s birthday, so it could get festive!

Effie Zilch will play at the Guild 8pm later that evening, so many of us will head over there together —join us!


Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Haiti, Mexico, Yelamu, Menlo Park: An inquiry into injustice and thinking globally while living locally.

Let’s break our silence and openly discuss our questions, hopes, and fears around what is happening in places around the world devastated by constant and consistent conflict: exploitative ideologies, war, terrorism, famine, genocide, and colonialism. What about our own country’s history of slavery and colonialism? How do we know what to do? What does it mean to “think globally while living locally”? What are our obligations to the injustices happening abroad and at home? How may we live with ourselves, balancing compassion with responsibilities to ourselves and to our own cultivation and self-transcendence? How do we keep from lying to ourselves? How to we manage disagreements within fields of apparently unsolvable problems? To what extent is one’s personal experience political? Is it true that it’s impossible to remain neutral, that there is no in-between? What about the loneliness and suicide epidemics plaguing the Silicon Valley and San Mateo County—are these mysteries related? How may we craft our private lives to become beautiful and our public lives as humane? Join us for an open conversation about these dramatic existential questions.

Theme of the discussion inspired by the book Culture and Imperialism by Edward Said as we undertake to incorporate a literary dimension to this discussion.

Robert M Powell, Original Songs & Beyond

As a musician and producer Robert M Powell has worked with a diverse array of artists from around the world including Sachiko Kanenobu, Titos Sompa, Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, Shafqat Ali Khan & Sukhawat Ali Khan, Airto Moreira and Flora Purim, Deva Premal, Kingfish and bluesman Roy Rogers. Robert has been a part of many San Francisco Bay Area bands over the years including Shana Morrison & Caledonia, Clothesline Revival, The Venusians, Opafire, Kundalini Boombox and Hologramatron and in recent years with his own band, Everett Tree.

Tragic Gadget will be the opening act.

Sabine the Therapy Dog

From 10am-12pm this Sunday morning, at the same time as our bike kitchen, Sabine, the Therapy Dog will be at Feldman’s Books.

Come by the shop on your way to the farmer’s market, and steal a moment from your busy day inside the bookstore for a free therapy session from Sabine. No questions asked...


The Bike Kitchen #2

The Bike Kitchen with bicycle enthusiast and shadetree mechanic Clayton Keller. Alongside Alex Anaya former lead volunteer of BicyCAL (the UC Berkeley Bike Co-Op), community members are invited on a first-come-first-serve basis to bring in their bicycles for some maintenance—to learn and to enjoy the wonders of bicycles, combined with coffee and doughnuts.


"Empowering Humanity Through Storytelling” with Simona M. Tahiliani

Author Simona M. Tahiliani’s mission is to channel the power of storytelling to educate, engage, and empower individuals in their pursuit of health, happiness, and human kindness. Ms. Tahiliani serves as Regional Director for San Francisco at the US Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights.


Author Janet Silver Ghent presents Love Atop A Keyboard

Semiretired journalist Ghent reflects on love and loss in this debut memoir.

An engaging and often poignant reflection on finding deep connections later in life.

“This is our last vacation together,” the author recalls telling her husband during a 1988 spring break trip to San Diego. After years of “unspoken tension,” the couple made the decision to break up. This chapter sets the tone for a book that juxtaposes Ghent’s professional life as an award-winning San Francisco Bay Area journalist with societal pressures to find love and get married. When she was a cum laude graduate from Oberlin College in 1964, she notes, her family was proud of her, but also “anxious for [her] to take the next step” in finding a husband. “How does marriage and children fit in with your plans?” asked her mother upon hearing Ghent’s desire to be “a book editor, or a theater reviewer, or at the very least a journalist.” Following her 1988 divorce from her first husband, she spent years, at the height of her career, looking for “late-life love.” Although she’s a realist who acknowledges that her relationship with her second husband continues “to veer off course, exploring new paths,” their story will nevertheless tug at romantic readers’ heartstrings. Ghent is a talented writer who blends a down-to-earth prose style with vivid turns of phrase. For instance, after she describes how she and her current spouse first met in 1999 at FAO Schwarz in San Francisco, where they played together on the toy store’s notable giant floor piano, she writes, “That keyboard is gone, but we’re still playing, still making music.”


First Friday Poetry Presents Poets Marianne Brems, Anne Marie Wenzel, Kate Adams, and Raymond Louis Acevedo. 

Marianne Brems will be our first poet. Marianne is a long time writer of trade books and textbooks, but also loves to write poetry and short stories. She has an MA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. Her poems have appeared in many literary journals including The Pangolin Review, Armarolla, Foliate Oak, La Scrittrice, The Sunlight Press, and The Tiny Seed Literary Journal. She lives in Northern California. mariannebrems.com.

Anne Marie Wenzel will be our second guest. She was born in San Francisco, California, and graduated with a master’s degree in economics from San Francisco State University. She has studied poetry and creative writing through Berkeley’s Left Margin Lit and Stanford Continuing Studies, where she received a certificate in novel writing. Her poetry appears in Humble Pie, the California Writers Club 2022 Literary Review, Phases: Redwood Writers 2023 Anthology, and the forthcoming Fault Zone: Detachment. She lives in Menlo Park, California, where she is at work on an historical novel set in early 20th century Northern California.

Kate Adams will be our third poet. She is a writer living in Mountain View, California. Previous work has appeared in Centennial Review, Zzyzzyva, and the Sand Hill Review. Her work has won awards from the Massachusetts Artists’ Foundation, in poetry and in fiction. Over many years of writing, she has come to enjoy the technical and artistic challenges of writing in ballad and sonnet forms. She is currently serving as the editor-in-chief of Fault Zone, the anthology published by the SF Peninsula branch of the California Writers’ Club. Poets of influence include Matthew Arnold, Wallace Stevens, and Gjertrude Schnackenberg. More of her writing appears at MadManorWoman.com.

Raymond Louis Acevedo is a Bay Area native Californian poet. He works as a speech-language pathologist in post-acute settings with primarily the geriatric population. He was influenced by Richard Maxwell’s Foothill College Creative Writers’ Conferences during the ’90’s. This poet finds influence in the writings of Al Young, Anne Sexton, Edward Fields, Floyd Salas, Robert Creely, John Logan, Robert Hayden, William Carlos Williams, Gary Snyder, Ada Limon, Mark Strand, Li-Young Lee, Sharon Olds, Wallace Stevens, Solmaz Sharif, George Saunders, David Foster Wallace, Billy Collins, Claudia Rankin, Langton Hughes, Amiri Baraka, Malcolm Harris, and George Carlin.

Rory McNamara and Henry Nagles will play in-between the four poets reciting, their songs will form the intervals of that evening.

Dance Party at Feldman’s Books

“We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once.”

— Nietzsche.

Come and hang out and dance in the bookstore. We'll lower the lights, turn up the volume and have some fun. Join us, will you?


An evening of Congolese dance with Lasana

Feldman’s Books presents an evening of Congolese dance with our good friend Lasana.


The Art of Flower Arrangements

"The Art of Flower Arrangements," with Aimee O'Donnell Saunders. Aimee is the founder of Two Birds Artistry, Floral Art & Design. Aimee values Nature, Community, and Creativity, cherishing the chance her business provides to support other small businesses and social justice causes, representing the beauty, joy and love she experiences in the world.

Aimee will be teaching us how to arrange flowers for our springtime bouquets. Participants will be guided in creating handmade Springtide wreaths, crafting with herbs, grasses, flowering shrubs, and succulents. Come celebrate the season of rebirth by putting your hands to work with nature.

Stoic Book Club #3

"The Discourses of Epictetus." Join us for a discussion of this classic of Greek philosophy. The Discourses of Epictetus are a series of informal lectures by the Stoic philosopher Epictetus written down by his pupil Arrian around 108 AD. Four books out of an original eight are still extant. The philosophy of Epictetus is intensely practical. He directs his students to focus attention on their opinions, anxieties, passions, and desires, so that "they may never fail to get what they desire, nor fall into what they avoid." 


Dana Moe's MUTE Preview Party

You're invited to a private cocktail party in the bookstore, celebrating the pre-premiere and screening of writer/director/producer Dana Moe's short film, "MUTE." Adapted from the Stephen King short story of the same name, MUTE is a thriller about the deadly danger of confessing too much.

Feldman's Books will provide beverages and Namesake Cheesecake will provide sweet treats.

If you prefer to donate directly to the fund, you may kindly send donations to @DanaMoeMute via Paypal.


Saint Patrick's Day

Feldman's Books will celebrate Saint Patrick's Day with an evening of traditional Irish culture, featuring Vincey Keehan, Kyle Alden, as well as mystery guests from Ireland. Come and celebrate life, relish in poetry, literature, songs and dance—enjoy homemade Irish stew, as well as homemade brown bread, soda bread, and sourdough—plus home-churned butter inspired by Manchán Magan's performance at Feldman's Books last autumn. Cead mile failte!


The Bike Kitchen

The Bike Kitchen with bicycle enthusiast and shadetree mechanic Clayton Keller. Alongside Alex Anaya former lead volunteer of BicyCAL (the UC Berkeley Bike Co-Op), community members are invited on a first-come-first-serve basis to bring in their bicycles for some maintenance—to learn and to enjoy the wonders of bicycles, combined with coffee and doughnuts.


Jazz with Colin Hamilton

Colin Hamilton will perform jazz piano, vocals, and violin. Colin has been performing in Northern California and beyond for over three decades.  He appears frequently in the Bay Area as a pianist, vocalist, and string player.  Don't miss an afternoon solo performance of tasteful vocal and piano renditions of American Songbook classics a la Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Thelonious Monk, and others.  Have a look at Colin's website for more information about him.

Maybe: Why Philosophy Is the Beginning of Wonderment.

Adrian Walker will engage in a philosophical discussion with Matthew B. Crawford on the subject: "Maybe: Why Philosophy Is the Beginning of Wonderment."Adrian Walker is a professor of philosophy and theology at Saint Patrick's Seminary and University in Menlo Park, California.

Matthew B. Crawford is a senior fellow at the University of Virginia's Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture and a New York Times bestselling author. HIs books include Shop Class as Soulcraft, The World Beyond Your Head and Why We Drive. His shorter writings have appeared all over, including his own Substack, Archedelia.

Living Life through a Dozen Songs

Popular music speaks to us at very simple and basic levels. We relate to the love, hurt, anger and loss that these songs speak about. Sometimes, as with all art, we hear in these songs things that were never intended by the artist – because of how it connects to our personal experiences and the memories they evoke.

Guitarist and singer, Chandran Sankaran, will take us on an exploration of a dozen songs, and the stories, memories and poetry that lurk unexpectedly under the surface. You will hear tunes that you may know and love, and some you haven’t heard before, across pop and rock genres spanning the last seven decades.

It’s part music concert, part reflection and conversation that will hopefully leave you savoring songs in new ways.

Chandran performed here in January and it was oversubscribed. He is back at Feldman’s for this show to give others a chance to see it. If you saw the show in January, this will be an 80% repeat. 

Nitya Rajeshuni will delight us again with her beautiful voice and open for Chandran Sankaran.

Musical artist Emma will be the warmup act. Her set consists mostly of oldies, and she donates proceeds from tips to a different nonprofit every month — this March is The American Cancer Society!

Leonel Saravia presents an exhibition of his Black & White art photography.

Leonel Saravia will present an exhibition of his Black & White art photography called "Four Seasons of Love," an intimate conversation with Leonel about his traumas, dreams, creativity, and love.

On March 1st, Kyra Flores Vasquez will open for Leonel with an original opening poem, which Feldman's Books has commissioned to celebrate the occasion.

On March 2nd, Justin Phipps and other artists from RedTone Records will open for Leonel with original music. 

Join us on Friday 3/1 in the evening or on Saturday 3/2 in the afternoon.

Leap Year Party With Low Lily

It only happens once every four years -- so let's party like it's 2020, 2016, 2012, 2008, and so on...
With the release of their new record ‘Angels in the Wreckage’ (produced by Dirk Powell), the Vermont-based American Roots band LOW LILY brings their infectious sound to a new level. With the energy of fiddle music, the introspective quality of contemporary folk, the precision of bluegrass, and the drive of Americana, the members of Low Lily (Liz Simmons, Flynn Cohen) combine their individual talents into one stunning soundscape.

Violet Venners will open for Low Lily from 5-6pm.

"The Intersection of Literature and Artificial Intelligence"

Join us for an unusual night at Feldman's Books. We'll be in conversation with Chase Brignac, Chief Engineer and CEO of Chat OpenSource about what Artificial General Intelligence will actually look like. Then, we are joined by author M. Pentz, who collaborated with ChatGPT in composing Choose: Will A.I. Take Over the World? a choose-your-own-adventure exploration of the ethical and existential future of A.I.. M. Pentz is a visionary author, artist, and entrepreneur, whose multifaceted career spans across the realms of technology, fashion, and social impact. As a founder and designer, they have demonstrated a profound commitment to innovation, sustainability, and positive change.

Poet Paul Max Payton will open for Chase Brignac and M. Pentz with some poetry he’s written together with Chat GPT. Paul is a Chief Software Engineer at Visa. He worked at Lockheed Martin for 30 years. Nevertheless, he considers himself a poet and artist, a Renaissance man in training. 

Justin Phipps of RedTone Records will set the vibe beforehand with some original blues music.

Actor Steve Budd Performs
“What They Said About Sex"

Steve Budd wondered what other people knew about sex that he didn’t. So he asked them. Meet a gay man, a polyamorous tantric sex practitioner, a trans man, and a sex-positive octogenarian, and take a wild ride through their stories and secrets—and Steve’s. Satisfy your curiosity about what other people do between the sheets. “What They Said About Sex” has delighted audiences in the Bay Area, L.A., San Diego, Kansas City, and Washington, D.C., and is the newest mashup of personal storytelling and documentary theater from an award-winning solo performer who "sparkles with manic and irrepressible charm."

The Chris Sor Jazz Combo, who played at Jack Feldman's Birthday Party and before Effie Zilch, returns from 4-5pm to offer a little jazz music before Steve Budd’s performance. They are a group of Stanford physics students.

Stoic Book Club #2

Join us for our second monthly Stoic Book Club. This month we will be discussing Seneca's enduring "Letters from a Stoic." The Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium, also known as the Moral Epistles and Letters from a Stoic, is a collection of 124 letters that Seneca the Younger wrote at the end of his life, during his retirement, after he had worked for the Emperor Nero for more than ten years.


Rory McNamara and Henry Nagles

Rory McNamara and Henry Nagles will be going on in Kate's place at 6:15pm. 

A favorite of Feldman’s Books, Rory McNamara has been performing his own personal blend of Irish and American music and song since the 1970s. 

Nitya Rajeshuni and KAI will open for them around 6pm.


Feldman’s First Fridays Poetry:
Dmitri Manin

First Fridays at Feldman’s – Feldman’s Books Presents in Association with the California Writers Club – a monthly poetry open mic event. Please come and share your work with the community!

Dmitri Manin is a physicist, programmer and award-winning poetry translator. His translations into Russian span the range from Robert Burns to Allen Ginsberg to contemporary American poets. His translations into English have been published in journals and anthologies, including The Best Literary Translations, forthcoming in 2024 from Deep Vellum. 


Nikolai Zabolotsky’s Columns is Dmitri's first solo book in English. Columns, first published in 1929, is a landmark of Russian Modernism. LARB former editor Boris Dralyuk wrote: “The early poems of Nikolai Zabolotsky present to us images of such stark and surprising vividness that they continue to stun nearly a century after their publication. Dmitri Manin's translations retain the freshness of Zabolotsky's vision [...] This book will change the way you see the world around you.”


Lara Arikan will be the moderator. Lara Arikan is a graduate student in electrical engineering, working on representations of meaning in language. She writes poems and essays, and translates Turkish folk poetry into English.

Effie Zilch

Duo Band Effie Zilch comes back again for another performance at 5:30pm at the shop. All of tonight's proceeds will go directly to Redtone Records, their record label. Effie Zilch is an idea, a muse, a guiding light - it’s also a rock and roll band. Band members Steve Wyreman and Evanne Barcenas have been making music together since they were teenagers living in Northern California.


Singer-songwriter Rory McNamara, with his personal blend of Irish and American music and songs, will be setting the mood at 5pm for us.

The Chris Sor Jazz Combo, who played at Jack Feldman's Birthday Party, returns from 4-5pm to offer a little jazz music. They are a group of Stanford physics students.

Stoic Book Club #1

Join us for our first monthly Stoic Book Club. This month we will be discussing Marcus Aurelius's classic work Meditations. Meditations is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from AD 161 to 180, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the Meditations in Koine Greek as a source for his own guidance and self-improvement.


Living Life through a Dozen Songs

Popular music speaks to us at very simple and basic levels. We relate to the love, hurt, anger and loss that these songs speak about. Sometimes, as with all art, we hear in these songs things that were never intended by the artist – because of how it connects to our personal experiences and the memories they evoke.

Guitarist and singer, Chandran Sankaran, will take us on an exploration of a dozen songs, and the stories, memories and poetry that lurk unexpectedly under the surface. You will hear tunes that you may know and love, and some you haven’t heard before, across pop and rock genres spanning the last seven decades.

It’s part music concert, part reflection and conversation that will hopefully leave you savoring songs in new ways.


Actor Steve Budd Performs
“What They Said About Love."

In “What They Said About Love,” his award-winning solo show, Steve Budd wonders why other people can and he can’t—tie the knot, that is. So he asked a bunch of couples what brought them together and keeps them from pulling apart. Meet a New Age couple who swears they met BEFORE they met, a pair of Metal Heads who thought it would be a hoot to get married on 6-6-06, and more. Satisfy your voyeuristic tendencies about how others look for love and, sometimes, find it.

"A hilarious take on how people fall in love." --East Bay Express

Alison Cupp Reylea's "Soundtrack"

Presenting Alison Cupp Reylea's essay collection & memoir Soundtrack: Liner Notes from a Pandemic Mixtape. Soundtrack: Liner Notes from a Pandemic Mixtape captures the full range of emotions, just like a favorite song. In twenty essays and two bonus tracks written during the heart of the COVID-19 crisis, Alison Cupp Relyea evokes the power of music to inspire, heal, and move us even . . . perhaps especially . . . in our most difficult times. Soundtrack acts as a microphone to amplify the intersection of intimate bonds, surprising nostalgia, and universal meaning that were essential to cope with the defining world event of our era.


Feldman’s First Fridays Poetry:
Kate Adams

First Fridays at Feldman’s – Feldman’s Books Presents in Association with the California Writers Club – a monthly poetry open mic event. Please come and share your work with the community!

Kate Adams will be our second guest for this series. Kate is a writer living in Mountain View, California. Previous work has appeared in Centennial Review, Zzyzzyva, and the Sand Hill Review. Her work has won awards from the Massachusetts Artists’ Foundation, in poetry and in fiction. Over many years of writing, she has come to enjoy the technical and artistic challenges of writing in ballad and sonnet forms. She is currently serving as the editor-in-chief of Fault Zone, the anthology published by the SF Peninsula branch of the California Writers’ Club. Poets of influence include Matthew Arnold, Wallace Stevens, and Gjertrude Schnackenberg. More of her writing appears at MadManorWoman.com.

Poet Paul Max Payton will open for Kate. Paul is a Chief Software Engineer at Visa. He worked at Lockheed Martin for 30 years. Nevertheless, he considers himself a poet and artist, a Renaissance man in training.

Winter Concert of Original Folk Music

Kyle Alden and Rebecca Richman will perform a Winter Concert of original folk music. Kyle Alden and Rebecca Richman play traditional music on fiddle, concertina and guitar in the Irish, Welsh, Scottish and American traditions, and perform folk and original songs, and songs made from the poetry of W.B. Yeats, Robinson Jeffers and William Blake, among others.

The band Open Road will open for Kyle and Rebecca. Open Road, a duo featuring veteran songwriters Lucia Comnes and John Palmer, serves up original songs and reimagined acoustic covers as authentic Americana, from ragtime to rockabilly with a dash of R&B. Lucia and John are storytellers who share a passion for songwriting, and enjoy interpreting songs by favorite writers including Emmylou Harris, Townes Van Zandt, and Tom Petty.


Mimi Tempestt introduces her new book
The Delicacy of Embracing Spirals.

mimi tempestt (she/they) is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and daughter of California. She has a M.A. in Literature from Mills College, and is currently a doctoral candidate in the Creative/Critical Ph.D. in Literature at UC Santa Cruz. 

Her first book, the monumental misrememberings, was published with Co-Conspirator Press//The Feminist Center for Creative Work in 2020. In 2021, she was selected for participation in the Lambda Literary Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices & Writers, and was a Creative Fellow at The Ruby in San Francisco. Her works can be found in Foglifter, Interim Poetics, and at the Studio Museum in Harlem. A native of Los Angeles, she currently resides in Berkeley, CA.

 
Rachelle Linda Escamilla will be the the opening act.  Rachelle is a Chicana poet from the Central Coast of California. Rachelle's latest book of poetry is Space Junk from the Heavenly Palace (Nomadic Press, 2023).

Kyra Flores Vasquez will be the warm-up act. Kyra is a student at Menlo College. Hailing from San Jose, California, Vasquez studies Psychology. Passionate about the human mind and feelings, Vasquez pours her heart and soul into her writing, relating it to her own experiences in a way she hopes audiences understand. A Latina, Vasquez feels passionate about overcoming the stigma of showing emotions. She hopes her writing reaches people and opens them up to a world of inner depths. This will be Kyra's second appearance at Feldman's.


The Chris Sor Jazz Combo and LuDog Records

The Chris Sor Jazz Combo, who played at Jack Feldman's Birthday Party, return from 4-6pm to offer a little jazz music. They are a group of Stanford physics students. Chris Sor is a senior this year, and plays both bass and guitar. Michael Robertson is also a senior this year, and plays trombone. Aaron Breidenbach is a PHD student, and is the percussionist for the group. Roman Dimov is also a senior like Chris and Michael, and holds everyone together on the piano.

Then, from 6-7pm, Aaron Thurlow of LuDog Records, who consigns albums at Feldman's Books, joins us to discuss his life passion of collecting vinyl. He will bring a record player up on stage and play some tracks for us, discussing the qualities and eccentricities of this classic medium, as well as the lost art of collecting records!

Feldman’s First Fridays Poetry:
Anne Marie Wenzel

First Fridays at Feldman’s #2 – Feldman’s Books Presents in Association with the California Writers Club – a monthly poetry open mic event. Please come and share your work with the community!

Anne Marie Wenzel will be our first guest. She was born in San Francisco, California, and graduated with a master’s degree in economics from San Francisco State University. She has studied poetry and creative writing through Berkeley’s Left Margin Lit and Stanford Continuing Studies, where she received a certificate in novel writing. Her poetry appears in Humble Pie, the California Writers Club 2022 Literary Review, Phases: Redwood Writers 2023 Anthology, and the forthcoming Fault Zone: Detachment. She lives in Menlo Park, California, where she is at work on an historical novel set in early 20th century Northern California.

Kyra Flores Vasquez will be the opening act. Kyra is a student at Menlo College. Hailing from San Jose, California, Vasquez studies Psychology. Passionate about the human mind and feelings, Vasquez pours her heart and soul into her writing, relating it to her own experiences in a way she hopes audiences understand. A Latina, Vasquez feels passionate about overcoming the stigma of showing emotions. She hopes her writing reaches people and opens them up to a world of inner depths.

Jack Feldman’s 67th Birthday

Jack Feldman’s Birthday – Come celebrate the birthday of our favorite independent bookseller and birdwatcher Jack Feldman. Live jazz music, ginger beer, and snacks provided.

Will Knox and his jazz trio (bass, guitar, and piano) will be playing for Jack.



Carrie Kartman’s One-Woman Show
“I Should Have Listened”

I Should Have Listened” is the riveting tale of a family with a dangerous legacy of silence, and a fateful crossing of paths with the mushroom: amanita phalloides. Will this mother be able to save her twins, and her sanity? The play has been performed in S.F., Berkeley and Western Michigan, and was a “final four” finalist in the S.F. March Madness Festival in 2019. Written and performed by Carrie Kartman.



Fundraiser for "You'll Lose A Good Thing"

You're invited to a private cocktail party in the bookstore, celebrating the production of "You'll Lose A Good Thing," an independent movie that was filmed at Feldman's Books next Tuesday, November 7 at 5:30 PM.

"You'll Lose A Good Thing" is currently in its final editing and post-production phase and needs your help.

Learn about how the project was cast and produced, how the crew raised over $300,000 to film the project across 44 days over two years! Meet key cast and crew members. Afterwards, join us for dinner around the corner at Bistro Vida.

If you prefer to donate directly to the fund and avoid Eventbrite fees, please click here to donate via Paypal. We'll reserve a spot for you!


Singer-Songwriter Rory McNamara

A favorite of Feldman’s Books, Rory McNamara has been performing his own personal blend of Irish and American music and song since the 1970s. 

From the night spots of Berlin and Hamburg, the folk music clubs of the British Isles, to the festivals and nightclubs of the San Francisco Bay Area, audiences have returned time and time again to hear his heartfelt singing from a well-chosen repertoire of songs.


California Native Gardening, a presentation by Author Helen Popper

Helen Popper's talk will guide us through this first of its kind month-by-month guide to gardening with native plants in a state that follows a unique, nontraditional seasonal rhythm.

Helen Popper was recently honored as one of the ten best garden authors of California by Live Outside. Combining delightful prose and beautiful photography, she has collected the insights of dedicated professional and amateur native gardeners into a treasured guide for your own native garden.

Storyteller Steve Budd Presents
“Seeing Stars"

At 31, Steve moves back in with his parents. He's always wished his father were different. Less distant. Less gruff. Less critical. More alive. More engaged. Easier to connect with. But when his dad transforms before his very eyes, Steve is in for the ride of a lifetime. “Seeing Stars” is a heartfelt and hilarious exploration of family dysfunction, mental illness, and a son’s desire to connect with his dad.

Poetry Night

Join us for a night of poetry at Feldman's Books. Get ready to be inspired by two talented poets, Marianne Brems and Nancy Davenport.

Arán & Im: Bread and Butter
with Irish writer Manchán Magan

Arán & Im celebrates the Irish language in an engaging, accessible bilingual way, through sourdough bread and home-churned butter.