Streets of Baltimore

The show about to close at the Crystal Moll Gallery in Federal Hill feels like an extension of the magazine's See Hear project a few years ago. Gathering cityscapes from various painters—in this case, Bill Tamburrino (see above), Stewart White, Will Williams, Bill Wilson, and Moll—it casts an artistic gaze on the nooks and crannies of Baltimore, with an eye towards capturing the magic in the mundane and recasting or reshaping everyday experience as fine art. It succeeds on all counts.

Today, the gallery adds another dimension to that experience by bringing in two of the city finest writers, Deborah Rudacille and Rafael Alvarez, to read from their works. Part memoir and part social history, Rudacille's Roots of Steel places her family at the center of Beth Steel's boom and bust. It's engaging and enlightening and one of the best nonfiction books you'll read this year. I've long maintained that Alvarez is our Joseph Mitchell, and I'll go toe to toe with anyone who claims otherwise.

The reading starts at 2 pm., and the gallery is located at 1030 S. Charles Street.