Quick Facts
Biography
Chris Tse (born 19 June 1989) is a Canadian spoken word poet, motivational speaker, and hip hop artist of Chinese descent. A speaker for Me to We, he has toured extensively with the Kenyan Boys Choir and in We Days across Canada.
Born in Vancouver and raised in Coquitlam, B.C., Tse attended Carleton University in Ottawa and received his bachelor's in journalism. He began performing spoken-word in his second year of his undergraduate studies.In 2009, he won the Vancouver poetry slam with his poem I'm Sorry I'm a Christian and in the following year, won the Capital Slam championship in Ottawa. He went on to captain the Capital Slam team to victory in the national championship. Since then, he has performed across Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia, and Ghana in various slams as a featured poet. He has given performances twice with TED and has also made an appearance at SPEAKout. In 2011 Tse represented Canada at the Poetry Slam World Cup in Paris and won second place.
Besides spoken word, Tse has worked in Ghana as a human rights reporter with Journalists for Human Rights. He currently works for Free the Children and Me to We as a motivational speaker and leadership facilitator. He is also the founder of the blog Fish With legs.
With a passion for Social Justice and his work as a speaker for Youth, Tse remarks:
I’ve always been social-justice minded. Growing up in Coquitlam, it wasn’t a rough upbringing, but every city has its issues and some friends from high school did end up doing drugs and getting involved in gangs. My parents raised me to learn about the world and see the disparity that exists.
Notable Poems
- I'm Sorry I'm a Christian
- Railroad
- Greatness
- My McDonald's Girl
- Wake Up
- Euthanasia for the Youth in Asia
- Jobs
- Sine Metu (for Jameson Whiskey)