Coming Full Circle

Dear Reader,

I first wrote Kampong Spirit—Gotong Royong: Life in Potong Pasir 1955 to 1965 in 2012 when I returned to Singapore, after having been in the UK for 30 years. It struck me then that if I didn't document what life was like living in the kampong, this piece of social history would be buried under the rubble and lost forever. Scholars may write about it but if they had not been brought up in a kampong, their view would be academic.

Mine was experiential.

I was born in 1951 and brought up in Kampong Potong Pasir. My family only left in 1975 when it was our turn to move out as the village was slowly being torn down to make way for HDB flats. It was a heartrending exodus though we also welcomed the modern facilities like electricity, running water and private bathrooms and toilets. Like all villagers, we were sad because we felt our way of life and sense of community in gotong royong, would never be the same again.

I was fortunate that the National Arts Council gave me a grant to write the book. And to my enormous surprise, it won the Singapore Literature Prize in 2014.

More than ten years on, Ethos Books decided to bring out a new edition. Revisiting the book has been an interesting experience. I am now 74. Re-reading it brought up the hardship of a life of deprivation and hunger. Yet, it also resurrected joyful memories with family, neighbours and my best friends.

Previously, I had no contact with my former neighbours. We didn’t have telephones in those days and some could not write. But since the publication of the first edition and publicity brought about by it, and with the internet, my neighbours and I have reconnected. They are worthy of a mention and are in the new edition. So, we have come full circle.

When you have someone who can share your memories with you, your life is validated. Come and share our stories at the launch of the new edition on 19^th September!

Warmest,
Josephine

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