a path - the cherita

1 May 2024

Two fearless 27 year old short form genres, going on 28, teaming up with one 2+ year old to keep storytelling alive

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

a path
#7:12 of the cherita
edited by ai li

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 2600 views for my Rhyvers essay on Cherita, Gembun and Dua, which appeared on 16 September 2023, with 1400 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 called ‘insightful’.

a path is our fifth book for 2024. 86 editions of the cherita are now available on Amazon in paperback and kindle, and so are 12 Gembun Anthologies along with 7 Dua Anthologies, with more mushrooming.

a path is our 86th 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.

This edition of a path showcases 90 fine cherita and cherita terbalik from writers and poets who hail from UK, USA, Singapore, India, Germany, Canada, China, Bulgaria, Australia and Denmark.

There’s one noticeable change, which started with last October’s edition of the cherita, and which will be gradually be rolled out through to the gembun and dua anthologies. All future editions will now have 90 instead of 95 poems within. My plan is to slowly but surely ensure that all our publications adhere to 90 poems throughout. This will take some time to implement but the number of poems for every publication from the 1-2-3 press and the empty press will ultimately be the same throughout.

www.thecherita.com/bookshop/

a path, currently 86th 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 editions 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 have all been added to my writing in one breath series.

I have edited this edition as I have all the other editions 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 edition :-

ai li/ James Haddad/ Jackie Chou/ Sigrid Saradunn/ Kathabela Wilson/ Partha Sarkar/ Barry Vitcov/ John Zheng/ Teri Messmer/ Eva Joan/ Susan Rogers/ Colleen M. Farrelly/ Jan Stretch/ D’ellen/ Ram Chandran/ David Cox/ Patricia Wakimoto/ Tsanka Shishkova/ Nicholas Gentile/ Allison Douglas-Tourner/ Tim Dwyer/ Sharon Hawley/ Gene Schultz/ Taura Scott/ Patricia Allen Smith/ Pitt Büerken/ Larry Kimmel/ Stella Damarjati/ Audrey Quinn/ John Paul Caponigro/

Three sample Cherita from a path :-

last rays

of an
afternoon…

first
sentence of
a fairy tale

Partha Sarkar

frog
jump

the moon
shakes
into

calligraphy

John Zheng

sitting
in my yard
to write
to you

with leaves
falling

ai li

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

Partha Sarkar/ John Zheng/ Stella Damarjati/ Ram Chandran/

a path 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 hope that you will find the cherita within worthy of a campfire gathering and the sharing of meaningful stories.

If this new edition strikes a chord with you, please feel free to review, comment on Amazon or give feedback directly to me. Many thanks.

ai li
editor

creator of cherita, gembun, dua
and of 19 other unique and original linked forms