Outside Voices: A Memoir of the Berkeley Revolution
Post Hill Press, distributed by Simon and Schuster
"A vivid portrait of 1970s Berkeley and San Francisco, Outside Voices charts a young woman's ascent in a world as thrilling as it was volatile. A true gem of a memoir."
Jasmin Darznik, New York Times-bestselling author of The Bohemians
Publication Date:
January 28, 2024
Publication Date January 28, 2024
Election Day 1972. I arrived in Berkeley, an inaugural issue of Ms tucked into my backpack, my first vote cast for George McGovern and settled into an apartment on Telegraph and Durant. That night, in the middle of a rainstorm, I joined the protest against Nixon’s re-election on Sproul Plaza.
My adventure in The Berkeley Revolution begun! Within two years, I was living with members of the Berkeley Women’s Music Collective, becoming a published poet, was Poetry Editor for Plexus and was a part of the collective that opened “Loaves and Dishes” with Suze Orman, Nancy Henderson, Jake Lampert, Debbie Lempke and Nancy Vogl…
For the next years I was enmeshed in the second wave feminism as we Berkeleyites interpreted it. The women’s movement was exploding: Women’s presses, women’s theaters, women’s restaurants, women’s music label and more were flourishing. Think Paris in the 20’s, Greenwich Village in the 60’s. We were the center of the feminist universe….
about joan
Joan Gelfand’s reviews, stories, essays and poetry have appeared in over 150 national and international literary journals and magazines including the the Los Angeles Review of Books, The San Francisco Chronicle, PANK! The Huffington Post, Rattle, Levure Litterarie, Voice and Verse, Sycamore Review, Prairie Schooner and The Meridian Anthology of Contemporary Poetry.
"Outside Voices is a mesmerizing, lyrical account of the heady days of the women’s movement in Berkeley in the 1970s. Joan Gelfand, newly arrived from New York and still reeling from the untimely death of her father, draws strength and inspiration from the community of artists, musicians, and activists who embrace her - and finds her voice as a poet through their support."
Frances Dinklespiel, author, Tangled Vines and Towers of Gold
upcoming events
EXTREME
A NOVEL BY JOAN GELFAND
Silicon Valley. High-Stakes. Serious Gamers.
Romantic Tension. It’s All in a Day’s Work.
EXTREME offers a glimpse inside the world of tech startups and its players in a page turner that’s sharp, quick, entertaining, and hard-hitting—a perfect combination for the perfect Summer 2020 beach read!


