ANNOUNCEMENTS - the cherita

A N N O U N C E M E N T S

1 April 2025

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]

*

my h e a r t
cherita 97
edited by ai li

*
sunsets never last
gembun anthology 18
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 4400 views for my Rhyvers essay on Cherita, Gembun and Dua, which appeared on 16 September 2023, with 2700 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 current news of the devastating earthquake in Myanmar with repercussions felt in Thailand, Lao, China and Vietnam was a great shock to me as I was travelling in Thailand less than two weeks ago. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims, their families and everyone else who have been affected by this sudden and terrible tragedy. My stories below were written on the day I left Bangkok so I apologise for their pre-earthquake content.

I’ve just returned from the Land of Smiles.

I was first in what was old Siam en route to Paris decades ago, and whilst been shown around Bangkok, was amazed to see my father’s old vintage classic 1950s peach Cadillac being used as a taxi at a roundabout. It still had my father’s distinctive registration number plate which was even more amazing, considering the car was now being used commercially, and driven in another country. Alas, the only image of this brief encounter lies deep within the chambers of remembrance.

This new trip was primarily for me to re-kindle my love affair with Southern Thai food which I grew up eating alongside Straits Chinese, Malay and Southern Indian fare, all of which infused my childhood with their heady aromas, vibrant and enticing come taste me colours. But more on this culinary adventure in my next newsletter as it would have been frivolous and inappropriate for me to have included these images this month in light of the recent earthquake.

On my first night in Chiang Mai, the words on a card left on my pillow by the turn down service, startled but, at the same time gently reminded me of the importance of storytelling in all our lives.

chiang mai turn down

I created Cherita, Gembun and Dua to enable poets and writers to tell their stories in the purest form available to them which was in a minimal way, to extract the true essence of a moment in time, rendering it timeless. The layout of this unique hotel cleverly borrowed the centre courtyard design of old Chinese houses which allowed its inhabitants the balanced space and tranquillity as panacea, to meditate, write and daydream in, without any urban hullabaloo. The various Buddha statues and Thai antiques which had been carefully placed throughout, added to the zen quiet of this property which was impetus enough for any storyteller to begin putting pen to paper.

inner courtyard

For a brief moment in time, a beautiful grey pedigree cat called Sebastien gave me comfort.

I lost our last cat Scratch eleven years ago, and so when I saw this Thai cat café which was deserted as it was the low season, I was through the door before you could say Geronimo. I spent time playing with the 75 resident cats who all appeared bored and lethargic, to stimulate them into mental and physical action. I enticed them with several of the cat toys that were around and gently massaged each side of their temples and pinched the back of the necks to remind them of how their mothers used to carry them. They rolled in ecstasy and quickly became more animated and alert. While this play reinvigorated them, I was soon exhausted after seventy five rounds of play. I sat down in my grey ankle socks, provided by the café, to catch my breath, when this big and beautiful grey cat came up to me and elegantly laid his right temple on my left foot and promptly dozed off quietly purring. I didn’t have the heart to move or disturb him to reach for my camera. My grey socks must have reminded him of his mother’s paws. The girls at the café told me he was Sebastien. The little darling finally woke up when he heard food arriving. I did manage to cradle him with his face looking up at me, which I always did, with all our own cats. He was soft as down and very loving. Leaving him behind was tough.

dear sebastien

On my way back to our hotel, we passed a large walking group of men and women all dressed up in black with matching conical straw paddy planting hats. A tour group came to mind until our driver pointed to my left and I saw a burning pyre. There was a clearing and I was shocked to witness a cremation up so close, and right in the middle of an ancient city. Fortunately, all the car windows were closed. The unmistakeable scent of the small fresh jasmine garland hanging under the rear view mirror was a timely reminder of things impermanent.

My flight home was at midnight and when we arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport to check in, there was a large group of predominantly females, both young and not so young, lining the entrance to the terminal. I soon worked out that they must be waiting for a celebrity. Arrived he did very soon after, with his bodyguards and entourage. The fans started screaming and waving placards. I managed to snap him in his bucket hat heading towards security as we were too. Google informed me that he was J-Hope, a famous South Korean K-pop star, rapper, song writer, record producer, and had just performed in a concert in Bangkok. He waved to his fans before disappearing into Security and the cathedral high terminal roared again with the adoring screams. Is this fame??

j-hope

I’ve saved my born again hotel story till last.

Sometime last year, soon after the reservation for our hotel in Bangkok, I found a box of old black and white family photographs. In this treasure trove were several small Kodak photographs of my mother, uncle and aunt visiting Penang and Thailand in the early 1970s. I suddenly realised that the hotel they stayed in, in Bangkok, was the one I had just booked for our stay. The first incarnation of this hotel was in 1970, which then closed in 2019 for its demolition. Then to rise again like a phoenix in September 2024, to re-claim its name which means Town in Heaven in Thai, with each room offering a panoramic view overlooking Lumpini Park, one of Bangkok‘s important and spacious green lungs. The original Benjarong Thai Restaurant’s 50+ year old two colossal handpainted pillars [weighing 10 tonnes] by the famous artist Paiboon Suwannakudt, also known as Tan Kudt, were painstakingly removed and have now been reinstalled in the new hotel lobby. The design on these pillars were inspired by the paintings displayed at Wat Pho [home of the largest reclining Buddha in Thailand]. There were restorers working daily on refreshing both pillars while we were there. Benjarong’s original paintings, murals and carved teak ceiling have also been reinstated and re-assembled to bring part of its past back to this new building. Today, the two pillars have been placed where they serve as a gateway to time itself, and to a private and personal place of tranquillity.

Two mature Plumeria trees that were planted over 55 years ago were also saved and replanted in the grounds.

lumpini park view

To be able to experience in a tangible way what my mother, uncle and aunt saw, felt and touched over 50 years ago was very emotional for me especially since I booked this hotel with no recollection of this ‘coincidence’. The hotel describes their breathtaking views of Lumpini Park as ‘golden frames of memories’ which will help draw positive energy into its space. My mother, uncle and aunt have been gone for some time now but I felt them close here, far away from the old country.

Their touch remains. I, will be back.

April 2025 sees the launch of my h e a r t, cherita 97 and sunsets never last, gembun Anthology 18.

There are now 97 anthologies of the cherita, available on Amazon in paperback and kindle, along with 18 Gembun Anthologies, and 13 Dua Anthologies, with more coming your way.

my h e a r t is our 97th 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.

my h e a r t showcases 90 fine cherita and cherita terbalik from writers and poets who hail from UK, USA, Singapore, Canada, India and Germany.

my h e a r t , currently 97th 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 :-

ai li/ Teri Messmer/ Ceri Marriott/ Jan Stretch/ Neena Singh/ Vidya Premkumar/ C.X. Turner/ Daniel W. Brown/ Jackie Chou/ Nolcha Mir Fox/ Taura Scott/ Ram Chandran/ Larry Kimmel/ Laughing Waters/ Partha sarkar/ john zheng/ Seretta Martin/ Lee Hudspeth/ Nicholas Gentile/ Robert Horrobin/ Dennis Owen Frohlich/ Pitt Büerken/ Patricia Allen Smith/ Barry J. Vitcov/ Sharon Hawley/ Kathabela Wilson/ Isabella Kramer/ Sigrid Saradunn/

Six sample virgin Cherita from this anthology :-

sitting
in the sun
with a dear friend

the meditation

of
our conversation

Sigrid Saradunn

naptime

me
not me

and
time
not time

john zheng

in the same spot
where her web was brushed
away this morning

the spider,
pale as a ghost,

is weaving another

Larry Kimmel

without stopping

we just
passed
each other

midnight
train

Laughing Waters

dollar bills
left
on a silk pillow

he’s

on
the road again

ai li

this morning
rain

on the field

breathe in, breathe out
the duet
of existence

Daniel W. Brown

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

Jackie Chou/ Larry Kimmel/ Teri Messmer/ Pitt Büerken/ Patricia Allen Smith/ john Zheng/ Taura Scott/ Sharon Hawley/ Kathabela Wilson/ Isabella Kramer/ C. X. Turner/

sunsets never last is our gembun anthology 18, and it appears alongside my h e a r t this month.

sunsets never last, our 18th Gembun Anthology with 90 virgin Dua poems, has attracted writers and poets from UK, USA, Singapore, Germany, India, Japan and Pakistan.

I would like to thank all the contributing poets and writers for their patience and hope they will find sunsets never last a worthy read.

Featured Poets as they appear in this edition:

ai li/ Jan Stretch/ Pitt Büerken/ Paulette Calasibetta/ Kathabela Wilson/ Jackie Chou/ Partha Sarkar/ Lisa Sparaco/ Eva Joan/ Seretta Martin/ kris moon kondo/ Sigrid Saradunn/ Barry J. Vitcov/ Hifsa Ashraf/

A dua bella has been awarded to the following writers and poets in this edition :

Jan Stretch/ Pitt Büerken/ Paulette Calasibetta/ Eva Joan/ Jackie Chou/ Seretta Martin/ Hifsa Ashraf/

Six sample virgin gembun from this anthology :-

candles

on the altar
waiting for
a match

Paulette Calasibetta

summer
of
auroral light

Pitt Büerken

precious
as diamonds
dew drops

on leaves

Jan Stretch

nightfall

in the stillness
delicate scents
of roses

Eva Joan

pressed between
clouds and trees
dad’s white handkerchiefs

ironed by mom

Seretta Martin

happy ending

my box
of tissues
untouched

ai li

This is April’s update on the cherita award :

I am sharing six cherita of mine which were published in snow ghosts, pieces of sky, morning light and rush of wings, four titles from the cherita anthologies collection, to hopefully inspire and guide you to the many possibilities possible with my storytelling genre in 6 lines.

If anyone is seriously considering to write Cherita well, my advice is for you to get hold of a copy of either one or both of our Cherita Award books or any of my own books which will help as reference guides for widening the storytelling scope for creating timeless Cherita.

I hope these cherita will further inspire you, should you decide to submit your virgin cherita for the cherita award. We also now have Joanna Ashwell and Ceri Marriott, our first two Cherita Award recipients with river lanterns and soirée, their respective books. Who will be our next Cherita Award poet?

a sunset for two

the perfect
picture postcard

empty porch
the cobweb and spider
long gone

ai li
from snow ghosts
the cherita

your reading glasses

are still
where you left them

on an old page
the silverfish
miss you

ai li
from snow ghosts
the cherita

the very thought of him

this morning
this afternoon
tonight

keeps her disability
company

ai li
from pieces of sky
the cherita

the trouble
with dying roses
is the fact

that i am left

with the ghost
of colour

ai li
from morning light
the cherita

a small

night light
that’s all

throwing shadows
that dance
without song

ai li
from rush of wings
the cherita

the water’s edge
i’m reluctant

to give
my face
a twin

ai li
from rush of wings
the cherita

For all new entrants, please be aware that fewer words in your cherita are always more, and to not repeat a subject matter often, unless of course you are able to come to it from a very different angle or perspective, rendering it anew. You want your portfolio to be one of timelessness and wonder, and to avoid a sameyness of subject matter which would inevitably make your portfolio bland and yawn inducing.

Here’s April 2025’s update on the forthcoming Gembun Anthologies 18-20 :

Anthology 19 is close to being complete.
Anthology 20 is meanwhile filling up with your timeless gembun.

Do please keep sending in your wonderful gembun stories but be aware that I do not read simultaneous submissions. Please do not send in work you have submitted elsewhere.

The Gembun Anthologies 1 – 18 [snow clouds, evening, paper talisman, windswept rain, deepening night, the old, white flowers, coming home, bedtime story, rain song, ice storm, belonging, the water, dancing silhouette, empty bottles, i remember and just before dark] are now available on Amazon in paperback and kindle, thanks to all your amazing enthusiasm and strong faith for, and in this genre.

Careful collating and editing are crucial for each anthology, for it to be a timeless work of short stories in the gembun format.

Meanwhile, if you have written gembun that you consider to be special, please do not hesitate to send them in.

Full details on the link below if you have not, as yet, sent in your Gembun/Gembun Terbalik for consideration.

www.thecherita.com/gembun-anthos/

Fine examples by Larry Kimmel, Joanna Ashwell and myself can be found, along with Gembun’s original guidelines on my personal website www.aili.co.uk/gembun/

Here too, is April 2025’s update on the other forthcoming Dua Anthologies 14-18 :

Anthologies 14 and 15 are now complete and waiting for me to give them both final proof readings.

Anthology 16 is very nearly there and we now have Anthologies 17 and 18 awaiting more of your virgin dua.

Writing good Dua requires a different mental discipline to Gembun and Cherita but it can be just as good a workout for our brain cells. Your storytelling skills are kept honed when you write all these three unique short form poetry genres. Seriously though, can we resist a challenge to tell our stories in a timeless fashion? I know I can’t. All these three genres challenge me to become a better storyteller in 6, 4 and 2 lines.

All Dua Anthologies 1 – 13 [remembering, I know the way, the light dying, the rain, something rare, all is dark, listening to the ocean, no longer sky, home in rain wildflowers were here, in the room, hammock afternoon and blue sky] are now available on Amazon in paperback and kindle, thanks to all your faith in Dua and your creative flair for telling stories even more minimally than Cherita and Gembun.

Tough editing is essential for each anthology, for it to be a strong and timeless book of minimal stories in the dua format.

You will find full info for this dua and its guidelines on www.thecherita.com/dua
and on www.aili.co.uk/dua

If you have written dua that you consider to be special, please do not hesitate to send them in stories but be aware that I do not read simultaneous submissions. Please do not send in work you have submitted elsewhere.
Full details on the link below if you have not, as yet, sent in your Dua for consideration.

www.thecherita.com/dua

Fine examples by ai li can be found, along with Dua’s original guidelines on my personal website www.aili.co.uk

NEW SUBMISSION GUIDELINES JANUARY 2025

Please can you now submit all of your submissions in Arial 11 font size, left justified with no italics, and also use our standard submission email for all our genres. This will be in effect as of now.

You will still be required to fill in your hometown/city and country with all submissions [this info is for our files] but only your country will be published in our books from this edition onwards. This will help speed up my proof reading.
There are also no longer any deadlines for submissions which are now on an ongoing basis.

Edition # 8.7 will be the last book numbered this way. From January 2025, all our books will be simply numbered, starting with Cherita 94, Cherita 95, Cherita 96 and so forth. This new numbering style will be incorporated in all the acceptance letters.

*
General Information on the Gembun and Dua Anthologies

All our anthologies have 90 poems within.

In the next few months or so, I will endeavour to launch the finished anthologies which I hope to launch alternating with the dua anthologies, where possible, as you have all been saints with your inspirational patience.

I would also like to profusely thank all the poets whose gembun and dua have been selected for the forthcoming anthologies for being so patient.

My wish, as I have indicated before, is for the both Anthologies to become a fluid and ongoing series for showcasing the best of the Gembun and Dua genres with the gems from your writing. That has not changed.

Gembun and Cherita share the same year of birth and hopefully they will continue to celebrate storytelling with Life, Love, Loss and Renewal into and beyond their third decade.

Dua may not have been around as long as Gembun and Cherita, but it is part and parcel of a storytelling trio which perpetuates the stories of Life, Love, Loss and Renewal.

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

1 March 2025

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]

*

i get lost again
cherita 96
edited by ai li

*
blue sky
dua anthology 13
edited by ai li

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

There are now over 4100 views for my Rhyvers essay on Cherita, Gembun and Dua, which appeared on 16 September 2023, with 2400 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’.

It is almost a year since I visited Thimphu, Punakha, Gantey, Bumthang and Paro in the Kingdom of Bhutan. I still feel that I left a part of me behind as residual energy, dancing with genius loci under a tall Indian silk tree.

How can I forget struggling to get out of bed at the unearthly hour of 2 am to catch our only flight of the day from New Delhi to Paro. Paro airport is one of the most dangerous airports of the world akin to Hong Kong’s Kai Tak airport which closed in 1998. It is located between Himalayan peaks and deep valleys and rely on only a limited number of highly skilled pilots who are certified to land, particularly in atrocious weather, as they mainly rely on landmarks to land due to limited radar capabilities.

Our amazing Drukair pilots not only got us safely there and back, but gifted us with the jewel of a dawn, and our very first glimpse of Everest on our side of the aircraft. The early morning light was perfect and the flight turbulence free. Saying that it was a spiritual moment for me is an understatement.

my first view, from my window seat, of Sagarmartha [the peak of heaven], its Sanskrit name

Everest holds a special place in my consciousness. My younger nephew David led the very first Singapore expedition to Everest in 1998, and is the author of several motivational books. Shortly after his momentous expedition, he was in a coma for almost two years with Guillain-Barré syndrome. I remember him mentioning to me that he believed he had contracted GBS in Katmandu. His immune system attacked his peripheral nervous system which caused his paralysis and muscle weakness from this rare neurological disorder. If memory serves, he was only able to communicate with his parents with his eye movements.

After his long recovery, he returned to his love of mountaineering and led over 15 more expeditions though disabled in one lower leg from GBS. What he has been through, and the way he re-started both his personal and professional life still leaves me in awe of the indomitability of the human spirit.

One Bhutanese individual also came to mind as I’m writing this month’s newsletter.

of sutras and bangers

In one of the major draughty Paro monasteries, a child monk was bent over his small desk repeating his sutras. I was fully cocooned in fleece from the cold when I saw him with just his prayer robe on. I felt his aloneness. I went over quietly and asked him what he missed most from, and, of home. He looked up at me, and in perfect English, replied that what he missed most was his grandmother cooking her homemade sausages for him every morning for breakfast. We then shared a moment of silent understanding before I apologised for disturbing him, thanked him for speaking with us, and left him to return to his prayers. On my way out of the monastery, I turned around briefly to mentally wish him a long life of learning, freedom from too much suffering, with a hope that his family, particularly his grandmother, would one day be even more proud of him when he emerges as a compassionate and adult Buddhist monk.

It was only when I returned to our lodge and sat by our clear pristine stream under an impossibly clear blue sky that I remembered I had forgotten to ask his name.

I have always believed that Hope finds us, when and if, we really need it most.

March 2025 sees the launch of i get lost again, cherita 96 and blue sky, dua Anthology 13.

There are now 96 anthologies of the cherita, and are available on Amazon in paperback and kindle, along with 17 Gembun Anthologies, and 13 Dua Anthologies, with more coming your way.

i get lost again is our 96th 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.

i get lost again showcases 90 fine cherita and cherita terbalik from writers and poets who hail from UK, USA, Singapore, India, Canada and Germany.

i get lost again, currently 96th 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.

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 :-

ai li/ Joanna Ashwell/ Barun Saha/ Ceri Marriott/ Jan Stretch/ Neena Singh/ Partha Sarkar/ Biswajit Mishra/ C.X. Turner/ Daniel W. Brown/ Teri Messmer/ Vidya Premkumar/ Nolcha Mir Fox/ Lisa Ann Sparaco/ Taura Scott/ Ram Chandran/ john zheng/ Isabella Kramer/ Larry Kimmel/ Laughing waters/ Sigrid Saradunn/ Lee Hudspeth/

Six sample virgin Cherita from this anthology :-

young windows
paint the wall
with summer

an old ceiling
hanging

beyond sight

Barun Saha

from my deck chair
the softening
colours of the sky

the stillness of the air

the peace
I wish for all

Jan Stretch

fallen blossoms

I pause
to listen
for the echo

of familiar
footsteps

Neena Singh

my collection
of designer sunglasses

now retirees

trying
to remember
the sun

ai li

floating
like mist across the bridge

from her world
to mine
we touch

but only briefly

C.X. Turner

this morning
rain

on the field

breathe in, breathe out
the duet
of existence

Daniel W. Brown

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

Jan Stretch/ Neena Singh/ C.X. Turner/ Daniel W. Brown/ Teri Messmer/ Partha Sarkar/ Isabella Kramer/

blue sky is our dua anthology 13, and it appears alongside i get lost again this month.

blue sky, our 13th Dua Anthology with 90 virgin Dua poems, has attracted writers and poets from UK, USA, Singapore, Germany, India and Canada.

I would like to thank all the contributing poets and writers for their patience and hope they will find blue sky a worthy read.

Featured Poets as they appear in this edition:

Pitt Büerken/ Prashanth V/ Ceri Marriott/ ai li/ Richa Sharma/ Vidya Premkumar/ Bryan Rickert/ Jan Stretch/ Allison Douglas-Tourner/ Karina Klesko/ nivy/ Partha Sarkar/

A dua bella has been awarded to the following writers and poets in this edition :

Vidya Premkumar/ Pitt Büerken/ Partha Sarkar/ Allison Douglas-Tourner/ nivy/ Jan Stretch/

Six sample virgin dua from this anthology :-

dipped a toe in the river

now part of the sea

Jan Stretch

rainbow-coloured

the smallest umbrella

Richa Sharma

a lake

that autumn colours

ai li

a rendezvous

with his scent

Karina Klesko

nursery

a bud calls out

nivy

the writing on the wall,

was it always there?

Ceri Marriott

This is March’s update on the cherita award :

Someone asked me the other day what a cherita lighthouse was.

These are timeless pieces of cherita that resonate with me, and hopefully with our readers as well, was my answer, and which are worthy of a special award which the cherita lighthouse, as well as a gem and dua bella are, for gembun and dua respectively. These are pieces that can be read in your mind or aloud.

Here are six beautiful virgin Cherita which I awarded the Lighthouse awards to from home for the wind, dream journal and wondering where, three titles from our cherita anthologies collection, to hopefully inspire and guide you to the many possibilities possible with my storytelling genre in 6 lines.

I hope these cherita will further inspire you, should you decide to submit your virgin cherita for the cherita award. We now have Joanna Ashwell and Ceri Marriott, our first two Cherita Award recipients with river lanterns and soirée, their respective books. Who will be our next Cherita Award poet?

dandelion
wish
hides

in a spider web
waiting

to be blown away

Pat Geyer
from home for the wind
the cherita

unfettered

I let
myself go

a red kite’s wings
measure the width
of this loneliness

Debbie Strange
from home for the wind
the cherita

a way out

perhaps
or is this

another sliding door
where time jars
between a dream

Joanna Ashwell
from dream journal
the cherita

the butterfly

in me
in you

let’s see
where . . .
the breeze takes us

Caroline Skanne
from dream journal
the cherita

this time again

I prepare my mind
to study harder

but then
my eyes fell on the world outside,
playing with the wind

Muskaan Ahuja
from wondering where
the cherita

searching
for an apple

to curl up in

and
give birth
to the rain

Réka Nyitrai
from wondering where
the cherita

Here’s March 2025’s update on the forthcoming Gembun Anthologies 18-20 :

With a bit of luck, Anthology 18 should be the next anthology to appear soon.

Anthology 19 is very nearly there with just a few spots left to fill.

Meanwhile, Anthology 20 is filling up with your timeless gembun.

Do please keep sending in your wonderful gembun stories but be aware that I do not read simultaneous submissions. Please do not send in work you have submitted elsewhere.

Careful collating and editing are crucial for each anthology, for it to be a timeless work of short stories in the gembun format.

Meanwhile, if you have written gembun that you consider to be special, please do not hesitate to send them in.

Full details on the link below if you have not, as yet, sent in your Gembun/Gembun Terbalik for consideration.

www.thecherita.com/gembun-anthos/

Fine examples by Larry Kimmel, Joanna Ashwell and myself can be found, along with Gembun’s original guidelines on my personal website www.aili.co.uk/gembun/

Here too, is March 2025’s update on the other forthcoming Dua Anthologies 14-16 :

Anthology 14 is now complete and wating for me to give it a final proof reading.

Anthology 15 is very nearly there.

Meanwhile Anthology 16 is steadily filling up with more and more of with your timeless dua.

Tough editing is essential for each anthology, for it to be a strong and timeless book of minimal stories in the dua format.

You will find full info for this dua and its guidelines on www.thecherita.com/dua
and on www.aili.co.uk/dua

www.thecherita.com/dua

Fine examples by ai li can be found, along with Dua’s original guidelines on my personal website www.aili.co.uk

NEW SUBMISSION GUIDELINES JANUARY 2025

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General Information on the Gembun and Dua Anthologies

All our anthologies have 90 poems within.

I would also like to profusely thank all the poets whose gembun and dua have been selected for the forthcoming anthologies for being so patient.

Gembun and Cherita share the same year of birth and hopefully they will continue to celebrate storytelling with Life, Love, Loss and Renewal into and beyond their third decade.

Dua may not have been around as long as Gembun and Cherita, but it is part and parcel of a storytelling trio which perpetuates the stories of Life, Love, Loss and Renewal.

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

1 February 2025

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]
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snowfall
cherita 95
edited by ai li

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just before dark
gembun anthology 17
edited by ai li

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

The wildfires of late in California have been fearsome and relentless. I’m sure our poets who live/lived in the vicinity or in the path of these seemingly unstoppable flames must have not only felt fear, powerlessness, but have been badly affected by the merciless onslaught and devastation of lives, homes, sentimental and personal possessions and businesses. I send our Californian poets and all other affected individuals and wildlife my healing prayers and thoughts and wish them all safe outcomes.

29th January has brought in the Year of the Snake for Chinese New Year 2025. This time of year is a time for reflection for me. There was always excitement at having new clothes for the auspicious day itself and red was the favoured colour. My maternal grandparents who were the raconteurs extraordinaire who inspired me to be a storyteller and wordsmith, would be all dressed up waiting for the family to arrive to offer them red date, sugared winter melon and rock sugar tea, for a year of good health and prosperity. We would all kneel in front of my grandparents in our new year finery, in rotation, starting from the oldest to the youngest, to perform this ancient rite. In return for our piety and obeisance, my grandmother would leave on the tea tray an angpow [red paper packet of money] for each of us to spirit away in glee. Mine was always substantial as I was my grandmother’s pearl. Then the banquet cum feast begins. Halcyon days that live on in memory. Impossible to replicate with the main cast of loved ones now in spirit.

Here are three images from my one of my various trips deep into China to re-trace my ancestral roots :

The magnificent and enormous stone carvings of a recumbent buddha, and of various other deities were captured on film by me when I visited Dazu, the Unesco World Heritage Site with rock carvings dating from the 7th Century AD depicting Buddhist, Confucian and Taoist beliefs near Chongqing.

There are over 50,000 statues with 100,000 Chinese inscriptions and epigraphs over 75 protected sites which miraculously escaped the Cultural Revolution.

Dazu was off limits to all visitors for many years and it was only in 1981 when foreign visitors were allowed in. Until then, there was only a muddy path in to the stone carvings. Truly one of the most awe-inspiring sights which I consider to be truly an ancient wonder.

Meanwhile, back in Old Blighty, London has had light snowfall but the cold was intense for a while. This allowed me time to do some reading of my own. Some truancy from editing and collating was the order of the day. The inclement weather gave me a chance to re-read some of the numerous books I’ve published, and to re-kindle that AHA moment of a first read of all those wonderful and timeless poems that have graced the pages.

I also found myself captivated again by Penélope O´Meara’s eloquent essay specially written for the cherita, and about cherita, which she entitled The Cherita and the Golden Spiral. She believed that Cherita embraced the Fibonacci sequence. Penny was kind enough to give me permission to reproduce it on our website. For those of you who are unfamiliar with her writing, or who have not read this special piece, do visit this link www.thecherita.com/articles/ from our website. Her essay is the second one down.

Her vision of, and for cherita, was spot on and the genre continues to spread its wings into areas and places I could not have dreamt possible, and has, it appears, also beguiled poets and writers into opening up all their senses and consciousness in the most natural of ways to tell and share their timeless stories.

My gratitude to Penny is boundless.

February 2025 sees the launch of snowfall, cherita 95 and just before dark, gembun Anthology 17.

There are now 95 anthologies of the cherita, and are available on Amazon in paperback and kindle, along with 17 Gembun Anthologies, and 12 Dua Anthologies, with more soon on their way.

www.thecherita.com/bookshop/

snowfall is our 95th 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.

snowfall showcases 90 fine cherita and cherita terbalik from writers and poets who hail from UK, USA, Singapore, India, Germany, New Zealand, Canada and Italy.

snowfall, currently 95th 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.

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 :-

ai li/ Roy Kindelberger/ Bill Waters/ Larry Kimmel/ Diane Funston/ Kathabela Wilson/ Sigrid Saradunn/ Partha Sarkar/ Pitt Büerken/ Teri Messmer/ Paulette Calasibetta/ Jackie Chou/ Karina Klesko/ Nicholas Gentile/ Barry J. Vitcov/ Joanna Ashwell/ Michelle Farrell/ Dan Schwerin/ Barun Saha/ C.X. Turner/ Jan Stretch/ Neena Singh/ Biswajit Mishra/ Daniel W. Brown/ Ceri Marriott/ Barbara Anna Gaiardoni/ Debbie Strange/

Six sample virgin Cherita from this anthology :-

all in black

the people
in

this room
you would have
hated the colour

ai li

pocket jungle

how deep
is the darkness
of a root

freshly woven
around my fingers

Joanna Ashwell

I read
between the lines

it’s the moment
I learn
fear

her suicide note

Jan Stretch

lost
from his heart

I sleep in sorrow

an
oyster’s
pearl

Karina Klesko

you speak to me

when I’m light years
away

searching
the Milky Way
for stardom

Jackie Chou

your touch

over
morning coffee

lingers
throughout
the day

Barry J. Vitcov

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

Karina Klesko/ Partha Sarkar/ Dan Schwerin/ Neena Singh/ Daniel W. Brown/ Barun Saha/ Joanna Ashwell/ Kathabela Wilson/ Jackie Chou/ Barry J. Vitcov/ Nicholas Gentile/ Roy Kindelberger/

just before dark is our gembun anthology 17, and it appears alongside snowfall this month.

just before dark, our 17th Gembun Anthology with 90 virgin Dua poems, has attracted writers and poets from UK, USA, Singapore, Germany, Canada, Italy, Japan, Pakistan and China.

I would like to thank all the contributing poets and writers for their patience and hope they will find just before dark a worthy read.

Featured Poets as they appear in this edition:

ai li/ James Haddad/ Nicholas Gentile/ Pitt Büerken/ Joanna Ashwell/ Jan Stretch/ Kathabela Wilson/ Maria Tosti / kris moon kondo/ Hifsa Ashraf/ Jackie Chou/ Tracy Davidson/

a gem has been awarded to the following writers and poets in this edition :

James Haddad/ Nicholas Gentile/ Pitt Büerken/ Joanna Ashwell/ Jan Stretch/ Hifsa Ashraf/ Kathabela Wilson/

Six sample virgin gembun from this anthology :-

a red
bougainvillea petal
dancing in the air

as if at a ball

James Haddad

when life
becomes a duet
with myself

smiles in the mirror

kris moon kondo

waiting

I imagine
you are part
of the storm

Pitt Büerken

another year

his being
like
autumn leaves

Nicholas Gentile

precious

those days
of love
lost

Jan Stretch

reed basket

holding
the tide
water lilies

Joanna Ashwell

This is February’s update on the cherita award :

Here six virgin cherita from sandalwood dreaming, one of my cherita books, to hopefully inspire and guide you to the many possibilities possible with my storytelling genre in 6 lines.

losing sight

of
who i was

when rain
arrives
with the sky