Huge congratulations to the totally wonderful Chris Tse, who has just been announced as Aotearoa New Zealand’s new poet laureate. A dynamic, charismatic, stylish and powerful poet, Chris will be a fabulous advocate for the diversity and richness of all aspects the Aotearoa New Zealand’s poet community.

Chris was born in Lower Hutt and studied Film and English literature at Victoria University, completing an MA in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters, and often celebrates his background as an openly queer Asian-Kiwi writer.

Chris started his poetry writing journey  at the age of sixteen  stating “he felt he’d finally found something he could pursue.” In a recent interview with Radio NZ he also stated “Poetry has always been this constant. It’s the thing I reach for, for comfort and connection, it’s helped me make wonderful friendships and relationships with people. It’s been a significant part of my life,”.

A little while back we had the great pleasure of having Chris reading for us and below is that reading, as well as a selection of his works.

Super model minority / Tse, Chris
“From making boys cry with the power of poetry to hitting back against microaggressions and sucker punches, these irreverent and tender poems dive headfirst into race and sexuality.” (Adapted from Catalogue). Also available as an eBook.

he’s so MASC / Tse, Chris
“In How to be Dead in a Year of Snakes, Chris Tse took readers back to a shocking 1905 murder. Now he brings the reader much closer to home. He’s So MASC confronts a contemporary world of self-loathing poets and compulsive liars, of youth and sexual identity, and of the author as character–pop star, actor, hitman, and much more. These are poems that delve into worlds of hyper-masculine romanticism and dancing alone in night clubs. ” (Adapted from Catalogue) Also available as an eBook. 

How to be dead in a year of snakes / Tse, Chris
“In 1905, white supremacist Lionel Terry murdered the Cantonese gold prospector Joe Kum Yung to draw attention to his crusade to rid New Zealand of Chinese and other east Asian immigrants. Author Chris Tse uses this story–and its reenactment for a documentary a hundred years later–to reflect on the experiences of Chinese migrants of the period, their wishes and hopes, their estrangement and alienation, their ghostly reverberation through a white-majority culture. ” (Adapted from Catalogue) Also available as an eBook.

Out here : an anthology of Takatāpui and LGBTQIA+ writers from Aotearoa
“A remarkable anthology of queer New Zealand voices. We became teenagers in the nineties when New Zealand felt a lot less cool about queerness and gender felt much more rigid. We knew instinctively that hiding was the safest strategy. But how to find your community if you’re hidden? Aotearoa is a land of extraordinary queer writers, many of whom have contributed to our rich literary history. But you wouldn’t know it. Decades of erasure and homophobia have rendered some of our most powerful writing invisible. Out Here will change that. ” (Adapted from Catalogue) Also available as an eBook.

No other place to stand : an anthology of climate change poetry from Aotearoa New Zealand
“What, then, for the work of poetry? It’s at the very periphery of popular speech, niche even among the arts, yet it’s also rooted in the most ancient traditions of oral storytelling, no matter where your ancestors originate from. And, as we were reminded by an audience member at the New Zealand Young Writers Festival in 2020, who are we to say poetry cannot change the world?A poem may not be a binding policy or strategic investment, but poems can still raise movements, and be moving in their own right.” (Adapted from Catalogue) Also available as an eBook.
New Zealand’s China experience : its genesis, triumphs, and occasional moments of less than complete success
“New Zealand’s China Experience collects fiction, poetry, personal accounts, historical narrative, anecdotes, transcribed oral narratives, newspaper articles and more, all bearing in one way or another on New Zealand perceptions of China and contacts with China and the Chinese. The book is richly illustrated with photographs, paintings, posters, and cartoons, and includes photographs by Brian Brake, George Silk, and Tom Hutchins, and three works by the contemporary artist Kerry Ann Lee. ” (Adapted from Catalogue)

A Clear Dawn, Paula Morris (ebook)
“This landmark collection of poetry, fiction, and essays by emerging writers is the first-ever anthology of Asian New Zealand creative writing. A Clear Dawn presents an extraordinary new wave of creative talent. With roots stretching from Indonesia to Japan, from China to the Philippines to the Indian subcontinent, the authors in this anthology range from high school students to retirees, from recent immigrants to writers whose families have lived in New Zealand for generations. Some of the writers—including Gregory Kan, Sharon Lam, Rose Lu, and Chris Tse.” (Overdrive description)