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The “Florida Man” archetype of the mid-twentieth century lives on through the lively subversion of rigid gender expectations torn apart by the counterculture—an era when resistance turned to campy rainbow colors, blinding Anita Bryant’s bullhorn-fueled preaching.

Join author and photojournalist Matthew Bamberg for an evening of queer historical quirks, outrageous storytelling, and a National Enquirer-style drama-orama of love-ins, drug cartels, and the dawn of the occult New Age.

A gay Florida Man belts out the “Floridaesque” landscape of 1970s Miami during a burgeoning counterculture that cracked open sultry closet doors to let in fresh air. Drawing on his popular essays and composite novel Coconut Grove Chronicles, Bamberg explores the bizarre, vibrant collision of gay, Cuban, and Jewish cultures in Coconut Grove—a scene that made San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury look second-rate.

What to Expect:

• Retro Party: Journey back to 1972 to experience life as a suburban working boy selling orgy butter, bongs, and coke spoons in a head shop facing the back patio of The Hamlet, one of Coconut Grove’s first gay bars.
• The Psychological Closet: Take a deep dive into the internal realities of growing up in the closet while navigating the cosmic auroras of an astrologer mother who charted planets for cartel wives.
• The Independent Publishing Masterclass: Beyond the wild memoir, Bamberg—an experienced educator—outlines the modern book publishing process, sharing how to harness platforms like IngramSpark to transform personal history into compelling, professionally produced autofiction.

Part quirky history lesson, part retro multimedia masterclass, and part storytelling hour, this event connects personal narrative to broader cultural resistance. Come for the “Florida Man” debauchery; stay for the blueprint on how to write and publish your own story.

The Bureau of General Services—Queer Division is Manhattan’s only queer bookstore, located on the second floor of the LGBT Center. We’re open Tuesday-Sunday from 1-7pm and accessible by the 6th Ave 1 2 3 L trains and 8th Ave A C E trains. Our cafe, The Bureau Cafe, is open Tuesday-Sunday from 9am-7pm.