The beloved pop idol of Aotearoa poetry has been crowned New Zealand’s lucky number 13th poet laureate this National Poetry Day, and everyone is extremely happy about it.

Lower Hutt poet and editor of The Spinoff’s Friday Poem, Chris Tse is Aotearoa’s next poet laureate and it’s a joyous vibe-shift. The author of three acclaimed volumes of poetry and co-editor of anthologies including the groundbreaking Out Here: An Anthology of Takatāpui and LGBTQIA+ Writers from Aotearoa is known across Aotearoa’s literary world, and beyond, as one of the most generous, energetic and voguish writers around.

 When asked what song symbolises his feelings on his new position, he answered: “Queens Remix of Beyoncé’s ‘Break My Soul’ (which mashes the original with Madonna’s ‘Vogue’) instantly came to mind. I love the way Beyoncé uses this remix to further celebrate the black female musicians who broke ground before her, and to acknowledge her contemporaries. This is the spirit I want to embody during my time as poet laureate – to bring the past, present and future of poetry together in a way that builds community and uplifts all poets.” See? Instant vibes. And perhaps not what you might have come to expect from a poet laureate.

Tse’s task over the next two years as the country’s Head Poet is, with the help of an $80,000 stipend, to “create new work and promote poetry throughout the country. The laureate is an accomplished and highly regarded poet who can speak on behalf of New Zealand poetry, and to its readers.” 

Te pouhuaki national librarian Rachel Esson has accurately described Tse’s appointment as recognition of “a poet leading a generational and cultural shift in the reach and appreciation of poetry in Aotearoa”. In Tse’s own words: “Stepping into this role as a queer, Asian writer is an incredible and life-changing opportunity.” It is for Tse but this is also epic for Aotearoa, because the thing is, Tse has been quietly shaking things up for years. He’s an entire literary eco-system: the poet’s poet; the reluctant-about-poetry-reader’s poet; the fashion-lover’s poet; the pop idol of poets; the Prince-Madonna of Aotearoa letters.

I remember seeing Tse perform from his debut collection How To Be Dead in a Year of Snakes nearly 10 years ago. It was apparent in the charged, anticipatory atmosphere of the crammed bookshop that here was someone with volumes inside them. He was a person to watch and a poet to follow. Over the years, in a gentle but sartorially outstanding manner, Tse has evolved into a literary phenomenon of his own. He is a super poet with the mysterious power of being everywhere all at once. 

There isn’t a game-changer that he hasn’t had a well-dressed hand in: Show Ponies created by Freya Daly Sadgrove; inaugural guest curator of LitCrawl Wellington; fashion icon at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards year after year (joined only in queen of lit fashion status by Tayi Tibble and Whiti Hereaka); poetry curator for the epic poetry-song cycle performance Epilogue; co-creator of new opera, Silence Is … ; co-creator of poetry karaoke experience Hit Me Baby One More Rhyme with Rosabel Tan.

Everybody wants and loves Chris Tse because he makes poetry emotionally potent, incredibly chic and also sexy. Upon recalling Tse perform in the watershed moment that was the first Show Ponies in 2019, fellow poet Sam Duckor-Jones said: “I stood in the back with Kerry Donovan Brown when Chris Tse read ‘Gentleman Poet in the Streets, Raging Homosexual in the Sheets’ … ‘of course we have an agenda / how else will black sequined capes become a thing’ … and he snapped open that fan … to which Kerry and I turned to each other and agreed – he is our leader.” 

Tse is a tireless supporter of others behind all of the scenes: as co-editor, as book-launcher, as curator, as The Spinoff Friday Poem editor, as ideas guy. I don’t remember an event, party or launch that Tse hasn’t been at (and my mum-life intermittent appearances mean that the odds of this would be low if Chris wasn’t literally always there). I just basically don’t remember poetry before Chris Tse. Well, I do. But it wasn’t as hot as it is right now and as it’s about to get under his watch. 

But the people I am mostly happy for in all of this are those who are yet to discover Tse, and perhaps even poetry itself. “To speak on behalf of New Zealand poetry, and to its readers” seems a huge ask. In some ways it feels like a strained quest in a time of trying to bend and break models to make space for multiplicity. (Like, there should also be a youth poet laureate position akin to the US pathway that helped make Amanda Gorman a global phenomenon.) And it can be a dark art trying to direct Netflix-jaded eyes onto literature, which is often under-resourced as an art form (reading and books are ubiquitous which means literature is not often considered in the same realm as other performing arts with flashier lights and budgets). 

But Tse’s appointment is the progression (that started with the appointment of Selina Tusitala Marsh, poet laureate 2017–2019) of a transformation being affected by the sheer energy of our poets at large. When asked what he wants to do with his term, Tse says: “I just want to make cool stuff and get as many poets involved as possible. Ultimately, my goal is to make poetry part of people’s everyday lives.”

Tse has already succeeded in expanding what poetry is and can do in Aotearoa. To me this laureateship is a joyous ascension of, in Tse’s words, a community “thrumming with diverse and innovative voices on both the page and the stage”.  I’ve long believed that Aotearoa is one of the most generative poetry communities in the world. Chris Tse as poet laureate tells that story because he will take that community on this ride with him in inventive and, most probably, visually stunning ways. He will turn more of us onto the sheer magic of poetry. It’s just the way he is. 

Behind Chris Tse is a chorus of Aotearoa writers thrilled to the quills. Here are what just a few of them have to say about him and this merry appointment: 

Emily Writes: “We are so lucky to have Chris Tse as our poet laureate! He introduced me to poetry and I fell in love with both him and the form. I know he will be an incredible ambassador for poetry in Aotearoa as he has already been such a tireless champion of our poets and writers for so long now.” 

Louise Wallace (poet; founder and editor of Starling): “I have known Chris for 20 years, since we did our first poetry workshop course together at the IIML. It’s become clear to me over that time that Chris is some kind of ancient vampire or part cyborg – no one man can have such boundless energy and enthusiasm for all things “arts”. But still, I love him and I can’t wait to see what he surprises and inspires us with in his tenure as poet laureate, and all the fans he will bring in under his spell. He is truly a poet for the people of Aotearoa today.”

Francis Cooke (poet; co-editor of Starling): “The thing I always remember most about Chris’s poetry is how deeply and honestly emotional it is. I know it’s a bit cliché to talk about poets revealing deep emotional truths (about themselves/about all of us), but Chris is never anything less than completely honest about writing about love and queerness, race and racism, about our national history and current political despair and the possibility of imagining and creating a better world.” 

Freya Daly Sadgrove (poet; creator of Show Ponies): “Having worked with Chris on Show Ponies, I know that he is absolutely brimming with ideas — bold, forward-thinking ideas that will advance what poetry can be in this country. I have watched him push himself way outside his comfort zone in the service of his poetry, with electrifying results. And he pulls other poets along with him into that space of daring experimentation. He can’t help it, he’s like a pied piper except he doesn’t lock children in a cave. He opens the world!”

Emma Barnes (poet): “Chris Tse is a heroic supporter and lover of poetry. During the years we edited Out Here together, Chris would constantly be working on many other projects, often supporting young poets. He’s hugely generous with his time and enthusiasm and I know how well loved he is by writers all over the country. He often invites voices into rooms he’s in if he notices absences. He has a keen eye for what’s fair and right and is not afraid to advocate where needed. His appointment leads the way for a new generation of poet laureates who might wear capes, sequins and feathers and who will be queer, young, takatāpui or wāhine, perhaps all of the above.”

Brannavan Gnanalingam (novelist): “Chris embodies community, and is an absolute role model within the various artistic scenes in Aotearoa. Also, he gives a voice to so many marginalised and underrepresented groups, and I’m just chuffed that he’s been deservedly recognised.”

Jordan Hamel (poet): Chris Tse? Who? What has he ever done? Write three books that have inspired me and an entire generation of writers in Aotearoa? Continually push the boundaries of what poetry is and can be? Tirelessly support and uplift younger, up and coming poets including myself? Maintain a reputation of being impossibly handsome and well-dressed at all times? Should have given it to C.K. Stead again.

Pip Adam (novelist; host of Better Off Read): “The thing I love about Chris is that he not only produces some of my favourite poetry but through his advocacy, support and generosity he makes even more amazing poetry possible. His work as a poet is quantum-like – making more space rather than taking it up.”

Chris Tse will be taking part in three events as part of Auckland Writers Festival from today (National Poetry Day) through to Sunday. For more information please visit Auckland Writers Festival. He will also be appearing at WORD Christchurch, 31 August – 4 September.