Issue 4: TOAST

EDITORS’ FOREWORD

We live, it seems, on an island with little room for nostalgia. At this time of writing, indie darling venue Projector shut its doors overnight and Cathay Cinemas, home to many a childhood outing, has gone into liquidation. They’ve joined the ranks of cultural institutions that once loomed large in the national imagination: the brick facade of the old National Library, many an independent bookshop, and the various third spaces of our communities.

Sixty years as a country, and what’s remained? This issue of sploosh! aims to provide a little room for memory. Our authors and contributors have aimed to capture the flavour of long-gone-by comfort, or a small slice of the heartland kopitiam. “TOAST” features Sher Ting’s “life / in smaller loves”, Crispin Rodrigues’ “ah man … the first punk”, and Tue’s “soft suns / rolling over / jagged shells.” Even Melizarani T. Selva’s non-fiction musings reveal the soft, well-treaded father-daughter dynamic hidden in the crust of a loaf of Gardenia bread.

It is perhaps opportune to take a moment, sit back, and sip on some kopi. The fourth issue of sploosh! awaits.

Anurak Saelaow, Laura Jane Lee, and Natshimi Chew

---