the sound - the cherita

1 October 2024

Three unique short form genres created by ai li
that honour storytelling and keep its breath alive

Cherita [b. 22 June 1997]
Gembun [b. 12 June 1997]
Dua [b. 4 March 2022]

the sound
# 8:5 of the cherita
edited by ai li

i remember
gembun anthology 16
edited by ai li

in the room
dua anthology 11
edited by ai li

updates on all forthcoming dua and gembun anthologies
and our exciting the cherita award

For those of you who missed reading ai li’s essay i, storyteller on Cherita, Gembun and Dua on Rhyvers and viewing her You Tube Cherita video interview for The Wise Owl by Neena Singh, for their special issue on Cherita, here are both links again below.

Here are ai li’s You Tube interview link : www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnGmkKKQvqo
and the link for her essay i, storyteller on Cherita, Gembun and Dua
rhyvers.com/hk22/

The full transcripts for both can be found on www.thecherita.com/lectures/ as well on the Rhyvers and The Wise Owl’s websites.

There are now over 3400 views for my Rhyvers essay on Cherita, Gembun and Dua, which appeared on 16 September 2023, with 1900 views the last time I looked, for my You Tube video Cherita interview, which appeared on 30 September 2023, and which The Wise Owl’s Editor Rachna Singh called ‘insightful’.

the sound is our tenth book for 2024 of our eighth year. 91 anthologies of the cherita are now in existence and are available on Amazon in paperback and kindle, along with 16 Gembun Anthologies, and 11 Dua Anthologies, with more soon on their way.

the sound is our 91st book in the cherita series of storytelling books, with 90 virgin cherita of more timeless stories to hopefully inspire our readers and poets to join our caravanserai of storytellers.

the sound showcases 90 fine cherita and cherita terbalik from writers and poets who hail from UK, USA, Singapore, China, India, Canada and Germany.

the sound currently 91st on the list, belongs to the ongoing the cherita series, as do my personal ongoing writing in one breath series of virgin Cherita, Cherita and Tanka, Cherita and Haiku, and Cherita, Tanka and Haiku books, and lastly my poems for inner rooms series with its 18 Tanka and Haiku books. All these books are available in paperback and kindle on Amazon.

Two of my own books of virgin Gembun, the weight of rain and blank screen, and my two books of Dua, the journey east and dancing shoes, and now arriving nowhere, my first cherita, gembun and dua book, have all been added to my writing in one breath series.

I have edited this book as I have all the other anthologies of the cherita, to be experienced two ways. It can be read as one storybook but also as an anthology of individual poems. Two reading experiences within one book, filled with stories of Life, Love, Loss and Renewal.

Cherita terbalik continues to capture the imagination of poets and there are again fine examples in this edition.

Featured Poets as they appear in this anthology :-

Kathabela Wilson/ Jackie Chou/ ai li/ Tim Callahan/ Leon Tefft/ Partha Sarkar/ Jan Stretch/ Teri Messmer/ Bryan Rickert/ Dr. Vimmie Manoj/ Deborah Karl-Brandt/ Stella Damarjati/ Patricia Allen Smith/ Pitt Büerken/ Yiwei Huang/ Ann Smith/ Sigrid Saradunn/ Joanna Ashwell/

Six sample virgin Cherita from this anthology :-

gulag archipelago

even now in
stillness

moonlight
cannot
escape

Leon Tefft

Life is a duet
Life is a duet

Death however
is
always

a solo

Tim Callahan

down
sizing

to
one
window

a monitor

Larry Kimmel

here in Shanghai

the stars
have been swallowed
by skyscrapers

we stare inward
stargazing too

Kathabela Wilson

first thunder

after heat
waves..

my
love song
for you

Partha Sarkar

now broken

the
porcelain bowl

the echoes
in
flagstones

ai li

the cherita lighthouse has been awarded to the following writers and poets in this anthology for their timeless Cherita :

Tim Callahan/ Kathabela Wilson/ Jackie Chou/ Larry Kimmel/ Leon Tefft/ Partha Sarkar/ Teri Messmer/ Ann Smith/ Joanna Ashwell/

the sound has been edited to be experienced two ways. It can be read as a storybook and as an anthology of individual poems.

I have enjoyed the challenge of selecting and collating for this edition of the cherita and of any other new books from either our 1-2-3 press or our the empty press, and hope that you will find the poems within worthy of a campfire gathering and the sharing of meaningful stories.

If this new book or books strikes or strike a chord with you, please feel free to review, comment on Amazon or give feedback directly to me. It would be much appreciated. Many thanks.

ai li
editor

creator of cherita, gembun, dua
and of 19 other unique and original linked forms
www.thecherita.com
storyteller oasis