Down and Out in New Orleans: Transgressive Living in the Informal Economy (Studies in Transgression)

In the years since Hurricane Katrina, the modern-day bohemians of New Orleans have found themselves forced to the edges of poverty by the new tourist economy. Modeling his work after George Orwell{u2019}s Down and Out in Paris and London, the sociologist and ethnographer Peter J. Marina explores this unfamiliar side of the gentrifying 2new3 New Orleans. In 1920s Paris, Orwell witnessed an influx of locals and outsiders seeking authenticity while struggling to live with bourgeois society. Marina finds a similar ambivalence in New Orleans: a tourism-dependent city whose commerce caters largely to well-heeled natives and upper-class travelers, where many creative locals and wanderers have remained outsiders, willingly or otherwise. Marina does not merely interview these spirited urban misfits{u2014}he lives among them. Down and Out in New Orleans follows their journeys, depicting the lives of those on the social fringes of a resilient city. Marina finds work as a bartender, street mime, and poet. Along the way, he visits homeless shelters, squats in abandoned buildings, attends rituals in cemeteries, and befriends writers, musicians, occultists, and artists as they look for creative solutions to the contradictory demands of late capitalism. Marina does for New Orleans what Orwell did for Paris a century earlier, providing a rigorous, unrelenting, and original glimpse into the subcultures of a city in rapid change In the years since Hurricane Katrina, modern-day bohemians have flocked to New Orleans but often find themselves skirting poverty. __Down and Out in New Orleans__ follows their journeys, depicting the lives of those on the social fringes as they carve out unique paths in a resilient city. Marina does for New Orleans what Orwell did for Paris a century earlier, providing a rigorous, unrelenting, and original glimpse into the subcultures of a city in rapid change. In the years since Hurricane Katrina, modern-day bohemians have flocked to New Orleans but often find themselves skirting poverty. __Down and Out in New Orleans__ follows the lives of those on the fringes as they carve out unique paths in a resilient city. Peter J. Marina provides an original glimpse into the subcultures of a city in rapid change. Intro -- Table of Contents -- Foreword, by David Brotherton -- Acknowledgments -- 1. New Orleans: Romancing the City of Sin and Resistance -- 2. The Hard and Soft City: A Portrait of New Orleans Neighborhoods and Their Characters -- 3. Living Down and Out in New Orleans -- 4. Buskers, Hustlers, and Street Performers -- 5. The Informal Nocturnal Economy of Frenchmen Street -- 6. City Squatting and Urban Camping -- Photo Insert -- 7. Occultists and Satanists -- 8. Gentrification and Violent Cultural Resistance -- 9. Hipster Wonderland -- 10. Brass Bands and Second Lines -- Conclusion: The Fogs of New Orleans and the Future of the Crescent City -- Notes -- Index New Orleans: Romancing The City Of Sin And Resistance -- The Hard And Soft City: A Portrait Of New Orleans Neighborhoods And Its Characters -- Living Down And Out In New Orleans -- Buskers, Hustlers, And Street Performers -- The Informal Nocturnal Economy Of Frenchmen Street -- City Squatting: Urban Camping In New Orleans -- Occultists And Satanists -- Gentrification And Violent Cultural Resistance -- Hipster Wonderland In The Ghetto -- The Brass Bands And Second-lines Of New Orleans -- Conclusion: The Fogs Of New Orleans And The Future Of The Crescent City. Peter Marina. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "In the years since Hurricane Katrina, the modern-day bohemians of New Orleans have found themselves forced to the edges of poverty by the new tourist economy. Modeling his work after George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London, the sociologist and ethnographer Peter J. Marina explores this unfamiliar side of the gentrifying 'new' New Orleans"--Amazon.com