Image: Hanging Chinese Lanterns

Bring your whānau and join us for poetry and conversation inspired by Chinese food and tradition with Poet Laureate Chris Tse, fellow poets Renee Liang and Lynda Chanwai-Earle, author Maddie Ballard and food and restaurant historian André Taber.

Enjoy poetry performances and get a chance to sample some Chinese snacks.

Wednesday 14 February 2024, 7pm to 8:30pm

Taiwhanga Kauhau Auditorium, Lower Ground Floor, National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, Te Whanganui-a-Tara

This event will also be livestreamed – register here.

About the speakers

Chris Tse was born and raised in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. He studied film and English literature at Victoria University of Wellington and also completed an MA in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters. In 2022, he was named the 13th New Zealand Poet Laureate. His poetry, short fiction, and non-fiction have been recorded for radio and widely published in numerous journals, magazines and anthologies. He has published several collections of poetry and his latest book Super Model Minority (2022) was longlisted for the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2023.

Renee Liang is a poet, paediatrician, playwright, child health researcher and essayist. She's a massive foodie (that goes without saying, she's Cantonese) reclaiming her heritage by learning to make ancestral foods — recent achievements have been zhong (rice dumpling) and mooncakes. A positive review from her parents is (almost) worth more than a review for one of her creative works! Renee has toured eight plays and collaborates on visual arts works, dance, film, opera, community events and music. Some poetry and short fiction are anthologised. A memoir of motherhood, When We Remember to Breathe, with Michele Powles, appeared in 2019. In 2018 she was appointed a Member of the NZ Order of Merit for services to the arts.

Maddie Ballard is a Chinese-Pākehā writer from Tāmaki Makaurau. She has recently completed an MA in creative writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters. Her debut essay collection, Bound: A Memoir of Making and Remaking, will be published by The Emma Press in 2024.

Lynda Chanwai-Earle is a fourth-generation Chinese New Zealander. Born in London in 1965 she spent her early childhood in Papua New Guinea before completing her education in New Zealand. She studied creative writing with Albert Wendt and graduated from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1990 and a Diploma in Drama, 1994. Lynda also graduated with a Masters of Arts in Creative Writing at Victoria University’s International Institute of Modern Letters in 2006. Based in Wellington, Lynda has been a full-time Features Producer at Radio New Zealand, creating the weekly Voices programme and other documentaries. Lynda was the 2019 Writer in Residence at Victoria University of Wellington. For more information, see Lynda's bio on the Playmarket website.

André Taber has been researching this history with support from the Chinese Poll Tax Heritage Trust and Whiria Te Mahara New Zealand History Grants, funded by the New Zealand History Research Trust Fund at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. He is a food historian based in Tāmaki Makaurau.

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