The Last Poem

Each night of the festival ends with The Last Poem: one poet, one poem, a quiet moment to close the day. 

On Friday, Chris Tse will take the stage. As New Zealand’s poet laureate, his work is both accessible and layered, exploring identity, desire, and the world around him. In this short, reflective session, he’ll share a final poem – something to pause with before the evening continues. 

A small moment with a lasting effect, for anyone who wants to listen one more time.

Chris Tse

Chris Tse is a poet, editor, writer, and the current poet laureate of New Zealand (2022-2025). He studied English literature, then creative writing for his MA. He aims to use his platform as a poet laureate to move poetry into the mainstream, engaging with younger people. 

His debut, How to Be Dead in a Year of Snakes (2014), won the Jessie Mackay Award. His later collections, HE’S SO MASC (2018) and Super Model Minority (2022), explore queerness and urban night life. He co-edited Here: An Anthology of Takatāpui and LGBTQIA+ Writers from Aotearoa (2021), the first major anthology comprising poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction by queer Aotearoa writers.  

Tse was a fellow of the International Writing Program’s Fall Residency at the University of Iowa in 2024 and is a founding member of the poetry collective Show Ponies.