Audio: Street Economy, poets for hire

Editor’s Note: New Orleans has one of the most vibrant and unique street economies, with everything from musicians to dancers and performance artists to the more hidden economies revolving around sex, drugs, and other hustles. Radio producer Sarah Holtz and journalist Kelley Crawford submerge themselves into those worlds with a recorder and unending curiosity to create the series Street Economy. With no real agenda, each episode encapsulates a moment of what it’s like to making a living on the streets of New Orleans.

Episode Description: In this episode of “Street Economy,” radio producers Sarah Holtz and Kelley Crawford go to the streets in search of poetry. Literal poetry, not a metaphorical search for their souls. Led by one of the street poets, Shannon, the world of carbon paper, typewriters, and the constant hum of human observation and interaction is what follows.