A Century of Living, A Lifetime of Writing: Cornelia Veenendaal Publishes Sky of Sudden Changes at 100

How often do we get to celebrate a poet publishing a new book at the age of 100? Cornelia “Connie” Veenendaal reminds us that creativity does not have an expiration date. Her new collection, Sky of Sudden Changes, released by BlazeVOX [books], is a luminous testament to a lifetime immersed in poetry, teaching, and the art of seeing the world with fresh eyes.

Veenendaal’s poems are anything but retrospective musings. They are alive—sparkling with clarity, subtle humor, and wonder. From the flight of Bohemian Waxwings to the ache of human loss, from childhood friends to the loneliness of a zebra in the Queen’s menagerie, she writes with a deft hand that bridges the ordinary and the extraordinary.

Readers and critics alike are astonished not only by the accomplishment of publishing at 100, but by the power and vitality of the poems themselves:

“There is magic in Connie Veenendaal’s poems. They have a crystal clarity while being far from obvious or simple… To say that they come from the pen of a working poet who is now 100 years old just adds more wonder to poems that are already brimming over with wonder.” — Betsy Sholl

A founding member of Alice James Books, Veenendaal has spent her life nurturing poetry in both her own writing and in her students during her 25 years of teaching at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Her earlier books, including The Trans-Siberian Railway, Green-Shaded Lamps, What Seas What Shores, and An Argument of Roots, laid the foundation for this latest achievement.

And yet, Sky of Sudden Changes is no mere capstone—it is vibrant, necessary, and resonant. These are not the poems of someone looking back from a distance; they are the poems of a poet still deeply engaged with the world around her, bringing clarity and depth to the questions of love, loss, art, and survival.

At a time when society too often overlooks the voices of its elders, Veenendaal’s new collection is a radiant reminder: art is lifelong. Imagination does not age. And poetry, like the sky, is always capable of sudden change.

Sky of Sudden Changes is available now from BlazeVOX [books].
👉 Order your copy here.