Filthy: The Weird World of John Waters, by Robert L. Pela (Alyson Publications, 240 pages, $15.95).

Waters is, of course, a culture hero and immortal genius of Baltimore - described quite accurately by Pela: "As writer and director of more than a dozen infamous film comedies, Waters has redefined the limits of bad taste." There are, I am sure, people who find Waters' work objectionable, but I am an intense fan. So is Pela. Here, his breezy, punchy, staccato style well befits the subject and the wide array of sources he cites and quotes. He puts himself into the narrative a bit more than one might expect, but it works - in celebrating the quirkiness of the segment of Baltimore's population that Waters most often focuses on. Charming and serious in its pursuit of the background of an important artist, this book will serve until a full-scale biography is taken on.