Interview: Chris Tse talks about Dance-Floor Romance
Chris Tse is a writer and editor living in Te Whanganuia-Tara Wellington. He studied film and English literature at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, where he also completed an MA in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters. He is the author of three poetry collections published by Auckland University Press: How to be Dead in a Year of Snakes (winner of the 2016 Jessie Mackay Award for Best First Book of Poetry), HE’S SO MASC and Super Model Minority (a finalist for the 2023 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry and longlisted at the 2023 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards). Alongside Emma Barnes, he edited Out Here: An Anthology of Takatāpui and LGBTQIA+ Writers from Aotearoa (Auckland University Press, 2021). In August 2022, Chris was appointed Aotearoa New Zealand’s thirteenth Poet Laureate; he completed his term in August 2025. Chris talks to NZ Booklovers.
Tell us a little about Dance-Floor Romance.
Dance-Floor Romance is my fourth poetry collection and was mostly written during my term as New Zealand’s Poet Laureate from 2022-2025. During this time, I was thinking a lot about joy and resilience, and why we turn to art and poetry to seek comfort or clarity in uncertain times. As well as celebrating the artists and musicians that have coloured my life, the collection reflects on formative memories and experiences, and how they have shaped the way I look at the world now.
What inspired you to write this collection of poetry?
I wasn’t expecting to write another book so soon after Super Model Minority, but being named Poet Laureate meant I was regularly being asked to write new poems. Many of the poems in this book were commissioned for events, exhibitions and other occasions, or written in response to current events. Something my brother said to me after the release of my last book kept returning to me: he asked me, ‘when are you going to write a happy book?’. Dance-Floor Romance isn’t all sunshines and rainbows, but his question did make me think a lot about how to write from a place of joy and celebration.
What was your routine or process when writing this collection?
The Laureateship kept me pretty busy (on top of my day job) so time to write was scarce. However, over the past few years I was very lucky to be offered a few writing residencies that gave me some dedicated time and space to focus on writing. Residency life is like living in a dreamy parallel timeline where you don’t have to worry about the distractions and pressures of a 9-to-5 job and other life commitments – a very rare privilege indeed.
If a soundtrack were made to accompany this book, name a song or two you would include.
This is a very pertinent question for this collection! There are heaps of songs, albums and musicians mentioned throughout the poems, but I’ll mention one that isn’t actually in the book. It’s ‘Club to Your Arms’ by Rose Gray, which really captures the euphoric intensity of a dance floor and that very specific urgency of a night out, when you make questionable decisions just to be near the person you’re crushing on or love. Another song I’d name is ‘Finally’ by CeCe Peniston – a club classic that gets me up and dancing every time it comes on.
If you had to choose your favourite poem, what would it be, and why?
It changes every time I look through the book, but one I really love performing that gets a positive response from audiences is ‘It wasn't a phase, Mum—I still listen to Celine Dion’. This poem pulls together a lot of the threads of the book – pop culture, queerness, nostalgia, and the passing of time.
What did you enjoy the most about writing Dance-Floor Romance?
As I mentioned earlier, I wasn’t planning to write a book so soon after Super Model Minority, so it was fun to just follow the muses and see what would happen. Unsurprisingly, I’ve returned to a lot of familiar themes in this book (all writers have their obsessions) but in a way I felt a lot freer to explore them without thinking too much about whether they would be included in a book or not.
What did you do to celebrate finishing this book?
A few days after finishing the manuscript I went to Laneway in Auckland – that felt like a little celebration. This book is like a bookend to my time as Poet Laureate so I’m really looking forward to launching it across the country with poets and readers who made my term so special. The dance floor is a
What is a favourite book you have read so far this year and why?
It’s another brilliant year for New Zealand poetry – I can’t pick just one book! Some of the collections I’ve really enjoyed are Jackson McCarthy’s Portrait, Haro Lee’s Watching Television in a Love Motel, and Bill Manhire’s Lyrical Ballads.
What’s next on the agenda for you?
I’ve got a few events lined up over the next few months to promote the book, then I’m hoping to start work on my next collection, which I’ve been thinking about for a while now.
Auckland University Press
