Poetry at the Manse: bg Thurston, Stephen Honig, Sheila Lynch-Benttinen

The NEPC’s 2025 season at The Old Manse in Concord, Mass., concludes on September 28. This free reading will be held under a tent outdoors, at an accessible venue.

Make a day of it! Arrive early or linger after the reading to explore the orchard, stroll along the Concord River, or enjoy a picnic on the grounds. You can also deepen your visit by joining a guided tour of the historic house before or after the event.

Learn more and pre-register for a tour: https://thetrustees.org/place/the-old-manse/. 

bg Thurston lives on a sheep farm in Warwick, Massachusetts. She received her MFA in Poetry from Vermont College in 2002. She has taught poetry courses at Lasell Village, online for Vermont College, and conducts poetry workshops. Her third book of poetry, The Many Lives of Cathouse Farm/Tales of a Rural Brothel, was published in 2025 by Červená Barva Press and is the culmination of a decade of historical research about her 1770’s farmhouse.

Stephen Honig has published ten volumes of writings: seven of poetry, a spy novel, and two collections of short stories.  His most recent poetic efforts include Unrequited Evils (exploring the decay of our modern world) and Parallel Universes (which asks whether modern poetry can be written in the mode of quantum physics and thus requires a new nomenclature to describe its attributes).  A member of the Board of Directors of New England Poetry Club, Steve is presently working on a chapbook with one of his sons, which was prompted by that son’s poem advising “do not let your father grow up to be a poet.”  When not writing, Steve has occupied himself with practicing corporate law in Boston for the last six decades.  He lives in Newton with his wife, Laura, and his recalcitrant cock-a-poo, Popcorn.

Sheila Lynch-Benttinen has many interests that inform her poetry. She is the granddaughter of Irish immigrants. She has had over 25 haikus published in a number of journals, and one of her many longer-form poems was a 2024 Pushcart Prize nominee.

With degrees from U. Mass Amherst and Harvard University, Sheila has had a varied career in Boston. She was President of Save The Harbor/Save the Bay in Boston, and a member of the Central Artery Urban Design Team. She was Executive Director of The Northeast Advanced Vehicle Consortium, on the Board of The Boston Greenspace Alliance, and The Stellwagen Bank Advisory Committee. She was Chair of the Spectacle Island Restoration Design Committee for 19 years. She lives south of Boston with her family. She has given lectures about local archeology, served on the Duxbury Historical Commission and the Duxbury Affordable Housing Trust, and loves painting and photography.