In recent weeks the New Hampshire Teen Poets Laureate Team has had the pleasure of connecting with 101-year-old poet and educator Cornelia “Connie” Veenendaal. Through her generosity and time we have been able to learn about her relationship with writing, risk-taking, and perseverance. 

Hello, my name is Hannah Rubin, and I was a teen poet laureate in 2022-2023. Right now I attend Yale University and am majoring in psychology with a neuroscience concentration. Currently, I am an editor for my school's Jewish art and writing magazine, and I have a few pieces in progress about my own Jewish heritage, not just poetry but also personal essays and a short story. Besides writing, I love to play piano when I get the chance and I am the musical director of an amazin

I recently graduated from Cornell in the spring and am now completing my Masters in Engineering at Cornell Tech. I'm hoping to focus on software engineering, a start-up, or personal writing projects in the future. While I haven't been submitting much lately, I had a poem published in Poet Lore recently. Zombie Fiction Know that here, our sheets lay warm. Somewhere, a doctor lights a candle and prays. I remember how the cat licked where you used to hold, how my jaw clicked at

Eleanor DelSignore (Grad. 2021) Elle DelSignore, who served as a Teen Poet Laureate from 2020 - 2021, recently graduated from Keene State College as a member of the class of 2025. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with two Bachelors of Arts degrees, one in Criminal Justice and one in Political Science, and was also named Outstanding CJS Senior of the Year. Currently living in MetroWest Boston and working full-time in the city, Elle plans on attending law school in 2027, and is st

(Grad. 2019) Since her role as the 2018-2019 Teen Poet Laureate, Cate Dixson earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. She studied creative writing and visual arts, with a primary focus on poetry and painting. Cate lives in Boston, where she works as a freelance illustrator and at Brookline Booksmith, an independent bookstore and community hub. Between recommending her favorite poetry collections, assisting with author events, and

Take an old idea and say it in a new way. Everything has been said before, but how can you say it in a way that is informed by your own...