Surprised, honoured and just a bit intimidated... That's how our new Poet Laureate Chris Tse feels about his new role. Given he's only in his thirties, he also sees this acknowledgement as a real boost to his confidence. Bill Manhire, Jenny Bornholdt, Selina Tusitala Marsh and David Eggleton are among his predecessors. For the next two years the queer Asian-Kiwi writer will promote poetry and publish more work. We spoke to Chris earlier this year about his third poetry collection, Super Model Minority. Lynn Freeman talked to him as he got ready to take part in the Auckland Writers Festival.