Chris Tse is a Canadian spoken word poet

Spoken word

Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....

 of Chinese

Chinese people

The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....

 descent. He has won numerous poetry slam competitions and was the former captain of the Capital Slam team that won the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word

Canadian Festival of Spoken Word

The Canadian Festival of Spoken Word is an annual festival produced by Spoken Word Canada and planned by a local Festival Organizing Committee in each host city....

 championship.

Raised in Coquitlam, B.C.

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, he attended Carleton University

Carleton University

Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...

 in Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

 and received his bachelor's in journalism

Journalism

Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...

 in 2011. Inspired by Shane Koyczan

Shane Koyczan

Shane L. Koyczan is a Canadian poet and writer. Born in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Koyczan grew up in Penticton, British Columbia. In 2000, he became the first Canadian to win the Individual Championship title at the US National Poetry Slam. Together with Mighty Mike McGee and C. R...

 and his interest in hip hop

Hip hop

Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...

, he began performing while still an undergraduate. He won the Vancouver poetry slam in December 2009 with his poem I'm Sorry I'm a Christian. The piece addressed hypocrisy amongst Christians and their dealings with others. The performance was videotaped and went viral on youtube

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

 in 2010 and remains his most popular piece. In 2010, he won the Capital Slam championship and captained the Capital Slam team to victory in the national championship. Since then, he has performed across Canada, the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, and Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

 in various slams as a featured poet. He was invited in 2010 by TED

TED (conference)

TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....

 to perform for TedxKids and also made an appearance at SPEAKout. In 2011 Tse represented Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 at the Poetry Slam World Cup in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 and won second place.

Subject matter in his poetry ranges from young love to racial profiling, faith, child sex slavery, and war. Stylistically, it can be described as a blend between hip-hop and story telling. In an interview, Tse comments on his poetry and his faith.

I approach it the same way I approach my faith. My faith is unique. God meets you wherever you are at. You can be a new believer, you can be doubting, you can be an atheist. But God can meet you where you're at. That's the way I approach evangelism: it's about meeting people where they're at. It's not about sharing with people the five pillars of salvation and hoping they'll be saved from hell. It's about meeting them where they're at, loving them, being in relationship with them, and letting the Spirit move.

Besides spoken word, Tse has worked in Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

 as a human rights reporter. He is also skilled in kung fu.

Notable Poems

• I'm Sorry I'm a Christian
• Railroad
• Greatness
• My McDonald's Girl
• Identity
• These Damn Immigrants
• Euthanasia for the Youth in Asia
• Jobs