Perks of Being Dumped Social Event!

In the poem “HIS NEXT GIRLFRIEND OWES ME ROYALTIES”, Darienne Sim’s speaker jokingly writes to an imaginary future girlfriend of an ex-boyfriend, discussing how the ex-boyfriend is shaped by their previous dating experience. Has any chance encounter in your life changed who you have become? Feel free to interpret this prompt broadly; the encounter need not be romantic in nature.

In the story “THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE MIGHT NOT SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE”, Faith Ho’s protagonist uses a computerised translator to go on a date with a boy who – literally – does not speak the same language. From Tinder to Canva to (gasp) AI tools, technology has changed the way we’re connecting with others and dating. How do you feel like your dating life might change with technology in the future? For example, what possible technological innovation would immensely help you in your dating journey?

Food is a heavy presence in the anthology, both as a way of expressing love, but also as a way of expressing allyship through shared experience. After all, eating together is such a big part of dating. Poems such as Natalie Wang’s “TASTING NOTES”, Conan Tan’s “YOU USED TO MAKE THE TASTIEST MEAL” and Euginia Tan’s “YOU CHAR KWAY” use food as a way for us to enter the relationship. If you had a food that characterized you (or your relationship), what food would it be, and why?

Because of Singapore’s housing policies, the co-ownership of HDBs has become a common milestone in many relationships. Part of Tong Jia Han Chloe’s nonfiction work “#11-20” discusses what happens when a relationship does not work out after the decision to BTO together. Ada Lim’s story “PAPER HOUSE” also centres around a couple’s sham marriage to buy a BTO together and split the profits. How has the dream (and constraints!) of building an ideal home here shaped your expectation of romance?

In Ashley Chin’s personal essay “SAYONARA, WABI-SABI”, the speaker’s main break-up is not with a romantic partner but with a therapist. The experience is similar to a break-up because the speaker has had to be vulnerable with her therapist over a long period of time. Have you experienced a good-bye with anyone – friend, therapist, family member – that felt like a break-up? Why so?

In Constance Tan’s flash fiction piece “I DO” and Topaz Winters’ essay “ONE OF YOU LEAVES FIRST”, music becomes important as a backdrop to a relationship that unfolds over the course of the story. If you were to choose 1-2 songs or musical artists to describe your dating life, what would they be, and why?

In Janelyn Dupingay’s poem “AFTER A BREAKUP”, the speaker lists things she would do after a breakup. What are your favourite post-breakup / feel-better rituals? How do they change you?

In Yap Xinyi’s short story, “RAYLEIGH’S PLACE”, the protagonist shares a meal with her ex. Have you ever imagined having a similar convo with your ex - a post-mortem on why things didn’t work out? What would you say to them?

Would you use a dating service like the one in Adan Jimenez’s short story, ”BLIND DATE”, that matches up widows and widowers with alternate versions of their dead spouse? Do you think you could ever “settle” for an alternate version of your significant other if you couldn’t have the real thing?