To mark the end of National Poetry Month, the Library Foundation of Hennepin County’s An Evening of Rhyme, Swine, and Wine and Normandale Community College’s Reading Series Event The Second Annual Great Twin Cities Poetry Read take place this week.

At 7:00 p.m. tonight at the Minneapolis Central Library, local poetry legend Jim Lenfestey will celebrate his new, edited collection of poems on the subject of pigs. This porcine anthology, Low Down and Coming On: A Feast of Delicious and Dangerous Poems about Pigs, features the work of 105 poets from around the world and throughout time, including Margaret Atwood, William Blake, Pablo Neruda, Sylvia Plath, and dozens of local authors.

The idea behind the collection came from Minnesota author Bill Holm before he died in 2009. In the introduction dedicated to Holm, Jim roots through the history of pig poetry since Homer, uncovering many tasty surprises. Join Jim and contributing poets Jim Heynen, Jill Breckenridge, and Katherine Grant for an evening of rhyme, swine, and wine. A wine toast will kick off the program, and a book signing reception (with chocolate-bacon cupcakes) will follow.

The Great Twin Cities Poetry Read is this Friday, April 29, from 7:30 to 10:00 p.m. at Normandale Community College, 9700 France Avenue South in Minneapolis (map).

The event, hosted by Matt Mauch and Dobby Gibson, welcomes the following readers: Steve Healey • Sharon Chmielarz • Meryl DePasquale • Matthew Geunette • Heid Erdrich • David Mura • G. E. Patterson • Sarah Fox • Patrick Hicks • Lightsey Darst • Juliet Patterson • John Medeiros • Sean Hill • Sin Yung Shin • Kris Bigalk • Paul Dickinson • Anna George Meek • Matt Ryan • William Waltz • Jim Redmond • Ed Micus • Mark Conway • Jim Coppoc • Stacia Fleegal • Cullen Bailey Burns • Francine Sterle • Anh-Hoa Thi Nguyen, and Kyle Adamson.

The poetry read is a fundraiser for a heart transplant for Dean Young. See the Facebook event page for more information.