The 57 Club was the self-assigned name of the thirty-nine legislators first elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1956. Karl's fascinating autobiography not only recalls those years, when Florida was in the midst of a transformation away from its rural, racially segregated, Deep South roots, but also offers intimate details into a half century of public service. By sharing his own experiences and reactions, describing what he witnessed or heard along the way, and telling stories about friends and colleagues, Karl gives readers a front row seat to some of the most captivating and turbulent moments in twentieth-century Florida politics. His insights into how the legislature functions--from the politics of committee assignments to the usefulness of lobbyists, from the savvy use of rules on the floor to debating skills, from polite ways of punishing unethical colleagues to the use of humor to calm angry exchanges, and much more--all make for an absorbing tale.

The experiences of Club 57’s director Stanley Strychacki, as recorded here, briefly describe many of the artworks and performances that were shown and created therein. But this is not the overriding purpose of the book. Works by the more renowned artists, such as Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf and Jean-Michel Basquiat, are more fully explicated in art history books and museum and gallery catalogues. But here, these and less celebrated works are interwoven with the circumstances of the club-how it came to be, how the participants interacted, and how the things that happened were able to happen. The last of these holds the biggest key. How was it that what appeared to be a punk rock club, filled with visually outrageous, verbally incitive and overtly sexually experimental young people, was allowed to operate for five years in the basement of a church! And how did the members come up with night after night of performances, art shows, film festivals, group activities and extensively casted productions - a new program nearly every night, and all this without any of the government-sponsored funding that is so bitterly and publicly fought over today. Leonard Abrams ...The book its not perfect and short. I apologize if I didn't write about you. If you were a Club 57 member or a fan add your name, experience and feeling on this page. You can do it for yor own satisfaction, for your friends and family or for the large internet audience. I invite you to be part of New York history. I want to read your comments and feel your soul, heart and mind...

An in-depth examination of the iconic alternative space Club 57. Located in the basement of a Polish Church at 57 St. Marks Place, Club 57 (1978-83) began as a no-budget venue for music and film exhibitions, and quickly took pride of place in a constellation of countercultural venues in downtown New York fuelled by low rents, the Reagan presidency and the desire to experiment with new modes of art, performance, fashion, music and exhibition. A centre of creative activity in the East Village, Club 57 is said to have influenced virtually every club that came in its wake. Published to accompany the first major exhibition to examine the scene-changing, interdisciplinary life of downtown New York's seminal alternative space in full, Club 57: Film, Performance, and Art in the East Village, 1978-1983 taps into the legacy of Club 57's founding curatorial staff to examine how the convergence of film, video, performance, art and curatorship in the club environment of New York in the 1970s and 1980s became a model for a new spirit of interdisciplinary endeavour. The richly illustrated publication will feature film and video stills; photographs of Club event and activities; ephemeral documents such as flyers, posters and period zines; and a robust plate section of rarely-seen artwork from the period by the likes of Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf, Tseng Kwong Chi, Kitty Brophy, Fab Five Freddy, Richard Hambleton, Dan Asher, Ellen Berkenblit and John Sex.