ANNOUNCEMENTS - the cherita

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

1 July 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]

a tree
# 8:2 of the cherita
edited by ai li

the water
gembun anthology 13
edited by ai li

no longer sky
dua anthology 8
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 2900 views for my Rhyvers essay on Cherita, Gembun and Dua, which appeared on 16 September 2023, with 1600 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’.

I have three books for you for July. the cherita is joined by one gembun and a dua anthology for your holiday reading.

I know that I’ll be reading a tree, no longer sky and the water under shade in my tropical yard with this year’s Robin and Coal Tit fledglings. They will no doubt be as noisy as ever above my head in their attempt to draw me away from the pages in my hands. They know I’m in love with them.

With my dream yard’s verdant and evergreen foliage, these young ones are happy as Larry, safe from the predatory outside world. It’s their very own urban oasis, as well as for my other visiting feathered songbird friends.

They have designated me as their carer and general dogsbody, to ensure that their squirrel proof seed feeders of sunflower seeds, niger seeds and meal worms, their protected suet feeder of sunflower seeds, berries and mealworm flavours, an unsalted peanut butter feeder with alternating buggy, fruity and plain peanut flavours, finely chopped up fresh Genoa cake feeders are all regularly cleaned and well topped up 24/7 and all year round. Before I leave on my travels, extra fully filled feeders are hung from my tall trees to ensure nothing runs out in the event of any travel delays or mishaps while I am abroad. Their water bowls are placed where rain water can top them up naturally and also where my plant sprinklers can reach them should there be a sudden drought.

I can’t tell you how envious I am of them. I think I would like to come back as a songbird in my next lifetime and luxuriate in a doppelganger of an avian Shangri la.

*

a tree is our seventh book for 2024 of our eighth year. 88 editions of the cherita are now in existence and are available on Amazon in paperback and kindle, along with 13 Gembun Anthologies, and 8 Dua Anthologies, with more on their way.

a tree is our 88th 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.

no longer sky, is our new Gembun Anthology 13 and the water, is our Dua Anthology 8 Both these eagerly awaited anthologies have launched alongside a tree.

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

All future editions of the cherita, and all our various anthologies 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 tree, currently 88th 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, 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 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/ Larry Kimmel/ Audrey Quinn/ Maria Tosti/ Partha Sarkar/ Jan Stretch/ Nichael Cramer/ Leon Tefft/ Teri Messmer/ John Paul Caponigro/ Jackie Chou/ Joanna Ashwell/ Megha Anne Wilson/ Isabella Kramer/ Kathabela Wilson/ Ash Greenwood/ Nicholas Gentile/ Ceri Marriott/ kris moon kondo/ Sigrid Saradunn/ Barry J. Vitcov/ David Cox/ Pitt Büerken/ Leslie Umans/

Six sample Cherita from a tree :-

a brief moment

of being
side by side

dewdrops
on
pine needles

Jackie Chou

raintree

i’m again
under
your spell

but this time
i’m crying

ai li

tread lightly

leave no scars
on Mother Earth

nor footsteps
on the heart
of her children

Jan Stretch

the end
of a long
hot summer

the sycamore

undressing
in plain view

Kathabela Wilson

rain
on snow
makes fog

one blank page
turns

to another

John Paul Caponigro

spine of the night

i run my fingers
along your ridge

and feel
the stars
shudder

Ash Greenwood

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

Larry Kimmel/ Maria Tosti/ Jan Stretch/ Nichael Cramer/ Jackie Chou/ Partha Sarkar/ Joanna Ashwell / Kathabela Wilson/ Ash Greenwood/ Isabella Kramer/ Leslie Umans/

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

the water, is our new Gembun Anthology 13 and it appears alongside a tree and no longer sky this month.

the water has attracted writers and poets from UK, USA, Singapore, Germany, Canada, Australia, Japan and India.

Featured Poets as they appear in the water :-

Pitt Büerken/ ai li/ Eva Joan/ Orrin Préjean/ James Haddad/ Jan Stretch/ Joanna Ashwell/ Stella Damarjati/ D’ellen/ kris moon kondo/ Jackie Chou/ Sigrid Saradunn/ Kathabela Wilson/ Liz Goetz/ Lee Hudspeth/ Rita Melissano/ Peggy Castro/ Partha Sarkar/ Ceri Marriott/ R. Suresh Babu/

Here are six sample virgin gembun from the water :-

clouds
race past my window
to rain

somewhere else

Jan Stretch

so cold
so dark
the waterlilies

not yet blooming

Kathabela Wilson

behind the door
we celebrate
the passion

of the night

Eva Joan

the water

placidly runs
from bowl to bowl
people rush by

Pitt Büerken

flute notes

he paints
the air
with sound

D’ellen

tea ceremony

the air
now still
and scented

ai li

a gem has been awarded to the following writers and poets in the water for gembun that shone :

Pitt Büerken/ Orrin Préjean/ Jan Stretch/ D’ellen/ Kathabela Wilson/ Liz Goetz/ Joanna Ashwell/ Rita Melissano/ Partha Sarkar/ R. Suresh Babu/

no longer sky is our new Dua Anthology 8 which appears alongside a tree and the water this month.

no longer sky, has attracted writers and poets from UK, USA, Singapore, Germany, Canada, India and Australia.

Featured Poets as they appear in no longer sky :-

ai li/ James Haddad/ Pitt Büerken/ Joanna Ashwell/ Kathabela Wilson/ Jan Stretch/ Vidya Premkumar/ Paulette Calasibetta/ Partha Sarkar/ Jackie Chou/ Madhuri Pillai/ Norma Bradley/ Taura Scott/ Radhamani Sarma/ Lee Hudspeth/ Rita Melissano/ Lynn Fayne/ Pete Taylor/ Liz Goetz/

Here are six sample virgin dua from no longer sky :-

the tunnel passed

rain again

Pitt Büerken

autumn leaves

and so do people

ai li

swaying pines

what’s left of time

Madhuri Pillai

seeing stars

i hang fairy lights

Taura Scott

moving upstairs

with the moon

Jackie Chou

at the precipice

my shadow falling off

Lee Hudspeth

a dua bella has been awarded to the following writers and poets in the water for their moonbeams :

Joanna Ashwell/ Jan Stretch/ Jackie Chou/ Madhuri Pillai/ Taura Scott/ Partha Sarkar/ Lee Hudspeth/ Rita Melissano/ Pitt Büerken/ Kathabela Wilson/ Liz Goetz/ / Pitt Büerken/

This is July’s update on the cherita award :

I would like to share with you 6 cherita by Joanna Ashwell, our first Cherita Award recipient, from her book river lanterns, published by our 1-2-3 press, I hope these cherita will further inspire you, should you decide to submit to the cherita award.

there are enough

umbrellas today
to gather

the rain
to shape an ocean
beneath us

Joanna Ashwell
from river lanterns edited by ai li

in one breath

you were gone
packing away

all our dreams
a suitcase no longer
made for two

Joanna Ashwell
from river lanterns edited by ai li

already

we are through
another month

the light begins
to fold away
inside shadow

Joanna Ashwell
from river lanterns edited by ai li

you find me

once again
wrapped inside

a soliloquy
of rainfall
and breath

Joanna Ashwell
from river lanterns edited by ai li

I love

this time of year
the softening light

the rustle of leaves
returning colour
to the sky

Joanna Ashwell
from river lanterns edited by ai li

heart-note

touching
our breath

opening
a flower
to sky

Joanna Ashwell
from river lanterns edited by ai li

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 July’s 2024 update on the forthcoming Gembun Anthologies 14-18 :

Anthology 14 should be next on the launch pad.

Anthology 18 has just joined the collection.

Anthologies 15 and 16 are now full and complete and awaiting a final look over by me before getting them ready for their individual launches.
Anthology 17 and now 18 meanwhile are steadily growing with the timeless gembun you have sent in. They are all emerging with strong story lines, as more and more timeless stories flow in.

All anthologies will now have 90 instead of 92 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 like to profusely thank all the poets whose gembun have been selected for the forthcoming anthologies for being so patient.

Meanwhile, 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 – 13 snow clouds, evening, paper talisman, windswept rain, deepening night, the old, white flowers, coming home, bedtime story, rain song, ice storm, belonging and the water 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.

My wish, as I have indicated before, is for the Gembun Anthology to become a fluid and ongoing series for showcasing the best of the Gembun genre 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.

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 July 2024’s update on the other forthcoming Dua Anthologies 9-13 :

Anthology 9 should be out next, fingers crossed. I am slowly but surely catching up with the backlog.

Anthology 10 is now full and complete, and awaiting a final proof reading by me.

Anthologies 11-13 are coming along beautifully with your timeless stories.

All our anthologies will now have 90 instead of 92 poems. Please do keep writing and sending in your dua stories.

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

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

Currently, 6 forthcoming anthologies of Dua are in the pipeline and it is up to the poets and writers if they wish for these anthologies to grow to the size of the Gembun Anthologies. Writing good Dua requires a different mental discipline to Gembun and Cherita but it can be a great 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 – 8 – remembering, I know the way, the light dying, the rain, something rare, all is dark, listening to the ocean and no longer 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

My wish, is for the Dua Anthology to also become a fluid and ongoing series for showcasing the best of the Dua genre with your dua moonbeams. That will not change for now.

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

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

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

www.thecherita.com
storyteller oasis

1 June 2024

Two fearless 27 year olds, going on 28 short form genres,
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]

empty beach
# 8:1 of the cherita
anniversary edition
edited by ai li

the borderlands
one breath virgin cherita
the 14th exclusively cherita book
by ai li

arriving nowhere
one breath virgin cherita, gembun and dua
the first cherita, gembun and dua book
by ai li

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

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 2700 views for my Rhyvers essay on Cherita, Gembun and Dua, which appeared on 16 September 2023, with 1500 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’.

cherita and gembun enter their 28th year of being from 22 June 2024, with the cherita going into its 8th year of storytelling with 6 lines. I have here for you our anniversary edition for June.

There are now thousands of fine cherita poems out there in poetry land and hundreds of exciting gembun and dua too. None of these three genres remain stagnant, and they continue to amaze me with their steady and sturdy growth.

Storytelling has always been my personal way of honouring my ancestors, who, with their oral storytelling, passed their timeless tales down generations of my family. These stories continue to revive and sustain me during the uncertain times in my life, for which I am eternally grateful.

I am also grateful and indebted to all the fine storytellers who have been with us and lovingly embraced cherita, gembun and dua, in their more than generous quest to keep the flame of storytelling burning. Some have moved on, having told their stories, but the caravanserai of the faithful and ever-growing budding storytellers inspire me with their dedication and fervour to write about the everyday with ever fresh eyes.

Very few stories we normally hear or read about are rarely new, in my opinion, but it is our challenge to re-tell whatever tales we know or have heard before with a new twist to refresh them for our readers, and ultimately for ourselves. Any story can be born again using the right mindset and dedicated writing hands.

empty beach is our sixth book for 2024 and the first book going into our eighth year. 87 editions of the cherita are now in existence and are available on Amazon in paperback and kindle, along with 12 Gembun Anthologies, and 7 Dua Anthologies, with more on their way.

empty beach is our 87th 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 borderlands, ai li’s fourteenth exclusively cherita book and arriving nowhere, her first cherita, gembun and dua book have also launched alongside empty beach.

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

www.thecherita.com/bookshop/

empty beach, currently 87th 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.

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/ John Zheng/ Pitt Büerken/ Partha Sarkar/ Colleen M. Farrelly/ Jan Stretch/ Kathabela Wilson/ Jackie Chou/ kris moon kondo/ Teri Messmer/ Sigrid Saradunn/ Ram Chandran/ Stella Damarjati/ Patricia Wakimoto/ Tsanka Shishkova/ Taura Scott/ Allison Douglas-Tourner/ Tim Dwyer/ Larry Kimmel/ Audrey Quinn/ Barry J. Vitcov/ Orrin Préjean/ John Paul Caponigro/ Joanna Ashwell/ Leslie Umans/ Megha Anne Wilson/ Joseph Witt/

Three sample Cherita from empty beach :-

when wind
blows the blues

across cotton fields

and the autumn moon
slide-steps
through clouds

John Zheng

a wet January

a damp start
to
the new year

all i can hear
is the sky

ai li

how long

will a tomorrow
remain alive?

as long as
a tree
breathes

Partha Sarkar

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

John Zheng/ Partha Sarkar/ Larry Kimmel/ Leon Tefft/ Teri Messmer/ John Paul Caponigro/ Megha Anne Wilson/ Joanna Ashwell/ Stella Damarjati/ Jan Stretch/ Orrin Préjean/

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

the borderlands which appears alongside empty beach and arriving nowhere, is ai li’s 14th book of exclusively 90 virgin cherita, published by the empty press.

Here are three sample cherita from the borderlands :-

to be carefree again

the wind
in my hair

with age and loss
in the borderlands
of lawlessness

ai li

writing down
another story

for the ghost
in me
in her

wedding gown

ai li

time warp

i’m walking
on moonlight

the movie theatre
playing
Road to Singapore

ai li

arriving nowhere which appears alongside empty beach and the borderlands, is ai li’s first cherita, gembun and dua book of 90 virgin poems, and published by the empty press

Here are six sample dua, cherita and gembun from arriving nowhere :-

after dark

my porch awake

ai li

the spelling
for melancholy
must be

autumn

someone’s
lying

ai li

perhaps

i should wear
red
today

ai li

windblown woodsmoke

i’m back
where i was
happiest

ai li

recorded birdsong

listening
to
my lost

yard
friends

ai li

holiday season

the fairly lights
banishing
the dark

for
now

ai li

This is June’s update for the cherita award :

Here are 2 cherita below, by me, from my first cherita, gembun and dua book, arriving nowhere, and one cherita from my fourteenth book of cherita, the borderlands, which I hope will further inspire you, should you decide to submit to the cherita award.

in the old house

a re-run
of dreams

mother and father
planning a life
after sunset

ai li
from arriving nowhere by ai li

visiting family
in the wooded
monastery

the hush

when they hear me
sweeping their tombstones

ai li
from arriving nowhere by ai li

nap time

over
i walk
into dusk

a lone hare
becoming evening

ai li
from the borderlands by ai li

Here’s June 2024’s update on the forthcoming Gembun Anthologies 13-17 :

With a bit of luck, Anthology 13 should be out in July.

Anthologies 14-15 are now both full and complete and awaiting a final look over by me before getting them ready for their individual launches.

Anthologies 16 and 17 meanwhile are steadily growing with the timeless gembun you have sent in. They are all emerging with strong story lines, as more and more timeless stories flow in.

All anthologies will now have 90 instead of 92 poems within.

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

Meanwhile, 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 – 12 snow clouds, evening, paper talisman, windswept rain, deepening night, the old, white flowers, coming home, bedtime story, rain song, ice storm and belonging 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.

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.

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 June 2024’s update on the other forthcoming Dua Anthologies 8-13 :

Anthology 8 should be out in July fingers crossed.

Anthologies 9-10 are now full and complete, and awaiting their final proof reading by me.

Anthologies 11-13 are coming along beautifully with your timeless stories.

All our anthologies will now have 90 instead of 92 poems. Please do keep writing and sending in your dua stories.

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

All Dua Anthologies 1 – 7 – remembering, I know the way, the light dying, the rain and something rare, all is dark and listening to the ocean 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/duaand on www.aili.co.uk/dua

My wish, as is for the Gembun, is for the Dua Anthology to also become a fluid and ongoing series for showcasing the best of the Dua genre with your dua moonbeams. That will not change for now.

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

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

www.thecherita.com
storyteller oasis

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

listening to the ocean
dua anthology 7
edited by ai li

belonging
gembun anthology 12
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 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 Rachna Singh called ‘insightful’.

Come June 22 and the cherita enters its eighth year of being.

Fresh from my healing stay in the spiritual landscape of Bhutan [I can still hear the colourful fluttering prayer and white mourning flags as I type this], I’ve decided to not only launch #7:12 a path, but was energised to finish the proof reading of belonging Gembun Anthology 12 and listening to the ocean Dua Anthology 7. It is therefore my pleasure to announce that both these anthologies are launching this month alongside the May edition of the cherita. We have 6 books [3 paperbacks and 3 kindles] to celebrate the cherita’s forthcoming anniversary in June, and all for your reading pleasure. Phew! I didn’t think I would make it but make it I did.

The poets involved with these two anthologies have been more than patient and I cannot thank them enough for their faith in me.

From now on, all books and anthologies will have 90 poems in each.

My red cord Buddhistic bracelet which was so carefully tied on my wrist by the monk at the Talo festival, Punakha, quietly unravelled when I woke after being home. Instead of burning it which I was supposed to do, I tied it around the clasped stone hands of one of my tall Javanese standing stone buddhas. I was also given a baby stupa [tsha tsha] which I have now placed on the folded palms of my seated stone buddha hidden underneath the dense foliage of my Chinese Camelia tree.

I may no longer be on Bhutanese soil but the prayers have followed me home, and are now safely ensconced around my Rousseau inspired dream yard. Hopefully, both these spiritual treasures will continue to protect my yard.

a path is our fifth book for 2024. 86 editions of the cherita are now in existence and 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.

listening to the ocean, our dua anthology 7 and belonging, our gembun anthology 12 have also launched alongside a path.

*
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.

belonging which appears alongside a path and listening to the ocean, is our eagerly awaited gembun anthology 12, published by the 1-2-3 press, now with 90 virgin gembun [and not 92 poems]

belonging has attracted writers and poets from UK, USA, Singapore, India, Germany, Canada, Australia and Japan.

Featured Poets as they appear in belonging:-

Joanna Ashwell/ ai li/ Suraj Nanu/ Pitt Büerken/ Kathabela Wilson/ Ganesh R./ Pete Taylor/ Farah Ibrahim/ dan smith/ Tohm Bakelas/ Eva Joan/ Jan Stretch/ Orrin Préjean/ James Haddad/ Keitha Keyes/ Joanna Ashwell/ kris moon kondo/ Sigrid Saradunn/ Partha Sarkar/

a gem has been awarded to the following writers and poets in belonging for their gems :

Joanna Ashwell/ Suraj Nanu/ Pete Taylor/ Tohm Bakelas/ Partha Sarkar/ Jan Stretch/ Pitt Büerken/ Orrin Préjean/

Here are three sample gembun from belonging:-

morning prayers
a thousand eyes
without a blink

sunflower field

Suraj Nanu

he did not believe in angels

until a feather
woke him
with a kiss

ai li

end of the year

the owl
flies into
the next

Pitt Büerken

listening to the ocean which appears alongside a path and belonging, is also our eagerly awaited dua anthology 7, published by the 1-2-3 press, now with 90 virgin dua [and not 92 poems]

listening to the ocean has attracted writers and poets from UK, USA, Singapore, India, Canada, Germany and Malaysia.

Featured Poets as they appear in listening to the ocean :-

Jackie Chou/ Kathabela Wilson/ Taura Scott/ ai li/ James Haddad/ Radhamani Sarma/ Bryan Rickert/ Partha Sarkar/ Ganesh Rajgopal/ Joanna Ashwell/ Robert Frede Kenter/ Pitt Büerken/ Liz Goetz/ Farah Ibrahim/ Connie Pittman-Ramsey/ Pete Taylor/ Neena Singh/ Jan Stretch/ Tim Callahan/ Paulette Calasibetta/

A dua bella has been awarded to the following writers and poets in listening to the ocean for their moonbeams :

James Haddad/ Radhamani Sarma/ Ganesh Rajgopal/ Joanna Ashwell/ Robert Frede Kenter/ Pitt Büerken/ Farah Ibrahim/ Kathabela Wilson/ Liz Goetz/ Partha Sarkar/ Neena Singh/ ai li/ Jan Stretch/ Paulette Calasibetta/

Here are three sample dua from listening to the ocean :-

the remains of old soldiers

can they still hear the wind ?

ai li

married till death says part

yet buried together says more

James Haddad

raindrops leaving

no trace of sky

Joanna Ashwell

This is May’s update on the cherita award :

Here are 3 cherita below by me from my own cherita and haiku book their wind songs which I hope will further inspire you, should you decide to submit to the cherita award.

on windswept nights
like these

my bamboo trees
and
i hear

our inner emptiness

ai li
from their wind songs by ai li

night
after night

i call you home

the catflap
sealed up
for years

ai li
from their wind songs by ai li

late night window

a
woman brushing
her long dark hair

without sound
without love

ai li
from their wind songs by ai li

Here’s May 2024’s update on the forthcoming Gembun Anthologies 13-17 :

Anthologies 13-15 are now full and complete and awaiting a final look over by me before getting them ready for their individual launches.

Anthologies 16 and 17 meanwhile are steadily growing with the timeless gembun you have sent in.

From Anthologies 12 onwards, all books will now have 90 instead of 92 poems within. Anthology 11 will be the last with 92 gembun within. They are all slowly but surely, emerging with strong story lines, as more and more timeless stories flow in.

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

Meanwhile, 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 – 12 snow clouds, evening, paper talisman, windswept rain, deepening night, the old, white flowers, coming home,bedtime story, rain song, ice storm and belonging 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.

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.

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 May 2024’s update on the other forthcoming Dua Anthologies 8-13 :

Anthology 13 has just joined the collection.

Anthologies 8-10 are now full and complete, and awaiting their final proof reading by me.

Anthologies 11-13 are coming along beautifully with your timeless stories.

From Anthology 7 onwards, all books will now have 90 instead of 92 poems as I try to ensure that all our books gradually keep to that number of poems. Please do keep writing and sending in your dua stories.

I would also like to profusely thank all the poets whose dua have been selected for the forthcoming anthologies for being so patient.
Currently, 6 forthcoming anthologies of Dua are in the pipeline and it is up to the poets and writers if they wish for these anthologies to grow to the size of the Gembun Anthologies. Writing good Dua requires a different mental discipline to Gembun and Cherita but it can be a great 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 – 7 – remembering, I know the way, the light dying, the rain and something rare, all is dark and listening to the ocean 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

My wish, as is for the Gembun, is for the Dua Anthology to also become a fluid and ongoing series for showcasing the best of the Dua genre with your dua moonbeams. That will not change for now.

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

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

www.thecherita.com
storyteller oasis

1 April 2024

A fearless short form trio made up of two 27 year olds and one 2 year old
giving your storytelling longevity

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

the river
#7:11 of the cherita
edited by ai li

ice storm
gembun 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 2500 views for my Rhyvers essay on Cherita, Gembun and Dua, which appeared on 16 September 2023, with 1300 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’.

This new edition #7:11 of the cherita – the river and ice storm, our gembun anthology 11, were both launched from Bumthang in the Kingdom of Bhutan.

I started my spiritual journey from Thimphu after a short stay in Delhi, where the view from our rooftop was Humayun, the second Mughal Emperor’s tomb [I wrote a cherita, gembun, dua, tanka and haiku whilst in Delhi [you can read these poems on our Announcements page posted on15 March 2024] before flying close to Everest and the Himalayas on my way to Paro]. History was all around us and there was no shortage of wonder for the jet lagged traveller in me.

From Thimphu, our journey took us to Punakha, the ancient capital of Bhutan, Gantey, Bumthang and then culminating in Paro. I encountered snowstorms, power cuts, deep impenetrable mists on the mountain passes, then sunny days followed by rain storms. The high altitude did make any slight exertion on my part, a daily struggle, but the rewards of seeing tall wild Indian silk trees with blood red large blossoms, even taller wild red and white rhododendrons and magnolias high up the mountains, then walking on lush carpets of freshly fallen pine leaves with its intoxicating scent of pristine forests plus the bonus of numerous small baby stupa shrines [called tsha tsha but which I affectionately called zsa zsa [these were individual miniature terracotta stupas will a tiny roll of prayers inserted at its base, then sealed and painted before being left, often in sacred caves or by a mountain road side adorned by colourful prayer flags].

I am still gradually processing all the experiences from this trip, some of which included the first 7th century Buddhist temple Kyichu Lhakhang, the sin-cleansing Tamshing Monastery [I crossed my fingers tightly when I was there], the lighting of 108 butter lamps, the 16th-century Pangri  Zampa, [now a monastic training school for astrologers], a 17th century first fortress monastery Simtokha Dzong, then there was Chimi Lhakhang, [the auspicious fertility monastery built in 1499], and finally a sheer cliff face climb of over 4 hours on our last but one day, up Taktsang Goemba or the Tiger’s Nest, built in 1692, and which has an altitude of 2,950m [9,678ft], passing a purifying water powered prayer wheel, a 60 metres waterfall, and a sacred pool. A number of Tibetan saints visited Taktsang for meditation and which included Milarepa [1040-1123] from the 11th century.

This 11th century sacred monastery, perched on rocks sits 900 metres above the valley floor. No photography was allowed but I was able to mentally store all images.

I chose historic Bumthang to launch both books because, not only does it house does it house a large number of sacred sites and monasteries, but Guru Rinpoche, who was said to have been born from a lotus, healed a Bhutanese King here in the 8th century. The King them embraced Buddhism and this then spread throughout the country.

It was not difficult to have been mesmerised by Bumthang’s vast and breathtaking four valleys [Chokhor, Tang, Chhume and Ura] and although this area is apparently less visited, it is in my opinion, the spiritual and cultural heartland of the kingdom. The potent images of millet, buckwheat, potato fields and slope climbing apple orchards that meet deep ancient pine forests will forever stay with me along with an inexhaustible number of ancient temples, nunneries, dzongs and former watch towers, almost all of which were perched on high elevations.

The magical and spiritual power of Bhutan will linger in my consciousness, long after this trip, along with the smiling warmth of its people. These qualities, absorbed during my stay have without a doubt, deeply enhanced my sense of inner peace. The Spirit of Healing is most definitely alive and well, and comfortably at home there.

the river is our fourth book for 2024. 85 editions of the cherita are now available on Amazon in paperback and kindle, and so are 11 Gembun Anthologies along with 6 Dua Anthologies, with more on their way.

the river is our 85th 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.

ice storm, our gembun anthology 11 has also launched alongside the river.

This edition of the river showcases 90 fine cherita and cherita terbalik from writers and poets who hail from UK, USA, Singapore, Germany, Japan, Canada, Bulgaria, Australia, Spain and India.

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. This edition, as with the previous edition, 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.

the river, currently 85th 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.

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/ Ash Greenwood/ Kathabela Wilson/ Pitt Büerken/ Sigrid Saradunn/ kris moon kondo/ James Haddad/ Jan Stretch/ Jackie Chou/ Teri Messmer/ Lee Hudspeth/ Diane Funston/ Liz Goetz/ Tsanka Shishkova/ Stella Damarjati/ Barry Vitcov/ D’ellen/ Nicholas Gentile/ Steven Bruce/ Partha Sarkar/ Orrin Préjean/ John Zheng/ Eva Joan/ Larry Kimmel/ Lisa Ann Sparaco/

Three sample Cherita from the river :-

where does pink live
when not in the sky

perhaps in the blush
of a child’s laughter
or the heartbeat of a butterfly

maybe … pink lives in us

Jan Stretch

a bridge
remembers

where

we
first
held hands

Barry Vitcov

rain
patters against
the cold window

i close my eyes

and dream
of sun

Teri Messmer

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

Jan Stretch/ Kathabela Wilson/ Jackie Chou/ Lee Hudspeth/ Barry Vitcov/ Steven Bruce/ Teri Messmer/John Zheng/ Partha Sarkar/

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

ice storm which appears alongside the river, is our eagerly awaited gembun anthology 11, published by the 1-2-3 press, of 92 virgin gembun.

ice storm has attracted writers and poets from UK, USA, Singapore, Germany, Australia, India, Japan, Canada and Malaysia.

Featured Poets as they appear in ice storm:-

Joanna Ashwell/ ai li/ Pitt Büerken/ Stella Damarjati/ Jharna Sanyal/ kris moon kondo/ Jackie Chou/ Sigrid Saradunn/ Prashanth V/ Suraj Nanu/ Connie Pittman-Ramsey/ Eva Joan/ Kathabela Wilson/ Taura Scott/ Ganesh R/ Patricia Smith/ Keith Keyes/ Nicholas Gentile/ Robert Frede Kenter/ Pete Taylor/ dan smith/ Tohm Bakelas/ Farah Ibrahim/ Ceri Marriott/ James Haddad/ Partha Sarkar/

A gem has been awarded to the following writers and poets in all is dark for their moonbeams :

Joanna Ashwell/ Pitt Büerken/ kris moon kondo/ Kathabela Wilson/ Robert Frede Kenter/ Pete Taylor/ Tohm Bakelas/ Suraj Nanu/

Here are three sample gembun from ice storm :-

trees

scratching
the sides
of abandoned houses

Robert Frede Kenter

i walked all night long
searching for inspiration
beneath city lights

San Francisco

Tohm Bakelas

lighthouse

no one here
now but
the dark

ai li

This is April’s update on the cherita award :

Here are 3 cherita below by me from my cherita and haiku book say autumn which I hope will further inspire you, if you decide to submit to the cherita award.

the hometown

that time forgot
hot pies cooling
on window sills

the absence
of blackbirds

ai li
from say autumn by ai li

moon

in the water
if only i could swim

in this
make believe world
of reflections

ai li
from say autumn by ai li

talk of death

i draw
a coffin

and watch
ink
dye in rain

ai li
from say autumn by ai li

Here’s April 2024’s update on the forthcoming Gembun Anthologies 12-17 :

Anthologies 12-15 are now full and complete and awaiting a final look over by me before getting them ready for their individual launches.

Anthology 12 should be the next gembun anthology to emerge after gembun anthology 11.

Anthologies 16 and 17 meanwhile are steadily growing with the timeless gembun you have sent in.

I would like to profusely thank all the poets whose gembun have been selected for the forthcoming anthologies for being so patient.
Meanwhile, 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 1–11 – snow clouds, evening, paper talisman, windswept rain, deepening night, the old, white flowers, coming home, bedtime story, rain song and ice storm 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.

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.

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’s update on the other forthcoming Dua Anthologies 7 – 12 :

Anthology 12 has just joined the collection.

Anthologies 7-9 are now full and complete, and awaiting their final proof reading by me.
Hopefully, I should be able to launch Dua Anthology 7 soon.

Anthologies 10 and 11 are coming along beautifully with your timeless stories.

I would also like to profusely thank all the poets whose dua have been selected for the forthcoming anthologies for being so patient.
Currently, 5 forthcoming anthologies of Dua are in the pipeline and it is up to the poets and writers if they wish for these anthologies to grow to the size of the Gembun Anthologies. Writing good Dua requires a different mental discipline to Gembun and Cherita but it can be a great 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 – 6 – remembering, I know the way, the light dying, the rain, something rare and all is dark 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

My wish, as is for the Gembun, is for the Dua Anthology to also become a fluid and ongoing series for showcasing the best of the Dua genre with your dua moonbeams. That will not change for now.

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

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

www.thecherita.com
storyteller oasis

15 March 2024

humayun’s tomb, delhi
photograph copyright ai li FRPS 2024

postcards from delhi never sent today :

dua

delhi dusk

as day tiptoes away

ai li

cherita

the view we share

of
Humayun’s Tomb
from the rooftop

pigeon
and i

ai li

gembun

marigolds
around my neck
and yours

this in India

ai li

haiku

i gatecrash
into history
India Gate

ai li

tanka

the thousands
of stars
that are out
are in
these evening saris

ai li

all poems above copyright ai li FRPS 2024

1 March 2024

A fearless short form trio made up of two 27 year olds and one 2 year old
giving your storytelling longevity

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

a stone thrown
#7:10 of the cherita
edited by ai li

*

all is dark
dua anthology 6
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 2400 views for my Rhyvers essay on Cherita, Gembun and Dua, which appeared on 16 September 2023, with 1200 views the last time I had a quick look, for my You Tube video Cherita interview, which appeared on 30 September 2023, and which The Wise Owl’s Editor called ‘insightful’.

With the Year of the Dragon now upon us for the next twelve months, I would like to hopefully inspire you to grow your cherita writing skills even more, and take your imagination into the higher realms of storytelling.

Here are six amuse bouche of my published cherita :

our neighbour

drying
her saris

from rajasthan
her homesickness
has colour

ai li
from how soft the light

kimono clad

for a night
of camellias

and haiku
the air scented
with stars

ai li
from dream merchant

quiet streets

then
a

late
night
radio

ai li
from how soft the light

the heating is off

in my room
and the window

open
i have become
winter

ai li
from night rain

these tired wings

have flown for love
through rain

now folded into
the loneliness
of evening

ai li
from night rain

daybreak

her bedside lamp
is still on

two rose petals
fallen
in the silence

ai li
from dream merchant

a stone thrown is our third book for 2024. 84 editions of the cherita are now available on Amazon in paperback and kindle, and so are 10 Gembun Anthologies along with 6 Dua Anthologies, with more on their way.

a stone thrown is our 84th 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.

all is dark, our dua anthology 6 has also launched alongside a stone thrown.

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

www.thecherita.com/bookshop/

a stone thrown, currently 84th 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.

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/ Bryan Rickert/ Ash Greenwood/ kris moon kondo/ Liz Goetz/ Jackie Chou/ James Haddad/ Larry Kimmel/ Kathabela Wilson/ Teri Messner/ Sigrid Saradunn/ Curt Linderman/ John Zheng/ Diane Funston/ Joanna Ashwell/ Partha Sarkar/ Jan Stretch/ Pitt Büerken/ Lynne Jambor/ Tsanka Shishkova/ Barry Vitcov/ Stella Damarjati/ Lisa Ann Sparaco/ Ceri Marriott/

Three sample Cherita from a stone thrown :-

creeping
into my dreams

every
brief entanglement
in my life

constantly dancing

kris moon kondo

the iron vase full

crashed
to
the floor

rusty
with stories

James Haddad

full moon

high
above

the forest
of
stars

Joanna Ashwell

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

James Haddad/ kris moon kondo/ Tsanka Shishkova/ Kathabela Wilson/

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

all is dark which appears alongside a stone thrown, is our eagerly awaited dua anthology 6, published by the 1-2-3 press, of 92 virgin dua.

all is dark has attracted writers and poets from UK, USA, Singapore, India, Malaysia, Germany, Japan and Canada.

Featured Poets as they appear in all is dark :-

ai li/ Ganesh Rajgopal/ Vidhi Ashar/ Kathabela Wilson/ Taura Scott/ Ceri Marriott/ Farah Ibrahim/ James Haddad/ Radhamani Sarma/ Bryan Rickert/ Orrin/ jharna sanyal/ Pitt Büerken/ kris moon kondo/ Shrehya Taneja/ Stella Damarjati/ Robert Frede Kenter/ Pete Taylor/ Joanna Ashwell/ Liz Goetz/ Partha Sarkar/

A dua bella has been awarded to the following writers and poets in all is dark for their moonbeams :

Vidhi Ashar/ James Haddad/ Ganesh Rajgopal/ Shrehya Taneja/ Pitt Büerken/ Stella Damarjati/ Robert Frede Kenter/ Kathabela Wilson/ Joanna Ashwell/ Liz Goetz/ Partha Sarkar/

Here are three sample dua from all is dark:-

paper boats

how quickly you forgot me

Vidhi Ashar

prelude

the anchor of you

Farah Ibrahim

a deserted house

the rumors take over

Ganesh Rajgopal

This is March’s update on the cherita award :

Here are 3 cherita below by me from my book paper flowers which I hope will further inspire you, if you decide to submit to the cherita award.

your flower garden
now a myth

once peonies attracted
the phoenix and
a dragon sipped

from seven lakes

ai li
from paper flowers by ai li

another lump
of sugar
in her tea

mother’s faraway friend

her lipstick now
in this poem

ai li
from paper flowers by ai li

a room
with
empty chairs

who got up first

to leave
the room ?

ai li
from paper flowers by ai li

Here’s March 2024’s update on the forthcoming Gembun Anthologies 11-17 :

Anthologies 11-15 are now full and complete and awaiting a final look over by me before getting them ready for their individual launches.

With a bit of luck, Anthology 11 should be the next anthology to appear.

Anthologies 16 and 17 meanwhile are steadily growing with the timeless gembun you have sent in.

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

Meanwhile, 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 – 10 [snow clouds, evening, paper talisman, windswept rain, deepening night, the old, white flowers, coming home, bedtime story, and rain song] 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.

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.

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’s update on the other forthcoming Dua Anthologies 7-11 :

Anthologies 7-9 are now full and complete and awaiting their final proof reading by me.

Anthologies 10 and 11 are coming along beautifully with your timeless stories.

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

Currently, 5 forthcoming anthologies of Dua are in the pipeline and it is up to the poets and writers if they wish for these anthologies to grow to the size of the Gembun Anthologies. Writing good Dua requires a different mental discipline to Gembun and Cherita but it can be a great 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 – 6 – remembering, I know the way, the light dying, the rain, something rare and all is dark 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

My wish, as is for the Gembun, is for the Dua Anthology to also become a fluid and ongoing series for showcasing the best of the Dua genre with your dua moonbeams. That will not change for now.

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

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

www.thecherita.com
storyteller oasis

1 February 2024

My two unique 27 year old short form poetry genres
have gone on to become a unique fearless trio with dua

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

running
#7:9 of the cherita
edited by ai li

*
rain song
gembun anthology 10
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 2100 views for my Rhyvers essay on Cherita, Gembun and Dua, which appeared on 16 September 2023, with 1100 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’.

Can it really be February already?

The Chinese New Year arrives on the 10 February with a fiery dragon descending from the sky to claim its next twelve months on earth.
I would like to wish you all fresh starts coupled with long term successes in whatever you and your hearts chose to do.

running is our second book for 2024. 83 editions of the cherita are now available on Amazon in paperback and kindle, and so are 10 Gembun Anthologies along with 5 Dua Anthologies, with more on their way.

running is our 83rd 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.

rain song, our gembun anthology 10 has also launched alongside running.

This edition of running showcases 90 fine cherita and cherita terbalik from writers and poets who hail from UK, USA, Singapore, Japan, Germany, India and Australia.

There’s one noticeable change, which started with October’s edition of the cherita, and which will be gradually be rolled out through to the gembun and dua anthologies. This edition, as with October’s edition, 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/

running, currently 83rd 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/ Ash Green/ Sigrid Saradunn/ kris moon kondo/ Bryan Rickert/ Barry J. Vitcov/ Robert Horrobin/ Eva Joan/ Kathabela Wilson/ Liz Goetz/ Laughing waters/ Jackie Chou/ John Zheng/ James Haddad/ Teri Messmer/ Larry Kimmel/ Partha Sarkar/ Sandip Chauhan/ Pitt Büerken/ Stella Damarjati/ Joanna Ashwell/ Rita Melissano/

Three sample Cherita from running :–

a grain
of sand

on this scorched soil

our footprints
meet
once again

Laughing waters

it comes back to me again

the end and the beginning
over the ocean
from the top of the stairs

his sunset …your moonrise
simultaneously spoken

Kathabela Wilson

a white line of foam

where the river meets
the sea

a memory
of glass polished
to sand

Robert Horrobin

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

Bryan Rickert/ Robert Horrobin/ Jackie Chou/ Kathabela Wilson/ Partha Sarkar/ Larry Kimmel/

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

rain song which appears alongside running is our eagerly awaited gembun anthology 10, published by the 1-2-3 press, of 92 virgin gembun

rain song, has attracted writers and poets from UK, USA, Singapore, The Philippines, Germany, India, New Zealand, Japan, Australia, Bulgaria, Malaysia and Italy.

Featured Poets as they appear in rain song :-

Joanna Ashwell/ ai li/ Madeleine Basa Vinluan/ Pitt Büerken/ Kathabela Wilson/ Sigrid Saradunn/ Jackie Chou/ Maricris Cabrera/ Richa Sharma/ Patricia Prime/ Sherry Grant/ Partha Sarkar/ kris moon kondo/ Larry Kimmel/ Richard Matta/ Radhamani Sarma/ Eva Damarjati/ Stella Damarjati/ Allyson Chen/ Connie Pittman-Ramsey/ M.J.Iuppa/ Tsanka Shishkova/ Ceri Marriott/ Jerome Berglund/ Farah Ibrahim/ Prashanth V/ Angela Giordano/ Jharna Sanyal/ Orrin/ James Haddad/ Ron Scully/

a gem has been awarded to the following writers and poets in rain song for their moonbeams :

Joanna Ashwell/ Madeleine Basa Vinluan/ Kathabela Wilson/ Sigrid Saradunn/ Jackie Chou/ Maricris Cabrera/ Sherry Grant/ kris moon kondo/ Richa Sharma/ Pitt Büerken/ Larry Kimmel/ Allyson Chen/ Ceri Marriott/ Jerome Berglund/ Farah Ibrahim/ Prashanth V/ Angela Giordano/ Jharna Sanyal/ Orrin/ James Haddad/ Partha Sarkar/

Here are three sample gembun from rain song:-

into
a world
where you are

plum scent

Richa Sharma

my shelter

i found you were
part storm,
too

Allyson Chen

winter
birch
tree

morning star

Jerome Berglund

This is February’s update on the cherita award :

Here are 3 cherita below by me from my book the promise of rain which I hope will further inspire you, if you decide to submit to the cherita award.

a piece

of driftwood
at sunset

if only
i had
a destination

ai li
from the promise of rain by ai li

i remember
i remember

love
in the depths
of winter

red red roses

ai li
from the promise of rain by ai li

how old you have become

slower with wit
clumsier with poise

but you dined
with Noel Coward
and tangoed in dreamtime

ai li
from the promise of rain by ai li

Here’s Febuary 2024’s update on the forthcoming Gembun Anthologies 11-17 :

Anthologies 15, 16 and 17 have now joined the growing Gembun Anthologies.

Anthologies 11-13 are now full and complete and awaiting a final look over by me before getting them ready for their individual launches.

Anthologies 14-17 meanwhile are alive and steadily growing with the timeless gembun you have sent in.

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.

The Gembun Anthologies 1 – 10 [snow clouds, evening, paper talisman, windswept rain, deepening night, the old, white flowers, coming home, bedtime story, and rain song] 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.

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.

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 February’s update on the other forthcoming Dua Anthologies 6-11 :

Anthology 11 has joined the our anthology line-up.

Anthology 6 will launch after Gembun Anthology 10, if all goes well.

Anthologies 7-9 are full and complete and awaiting their final proof reading by me.

Anthology 10 is coming along beautifully with your timeless stories.

I would also like to profusely thank all the poets whose dua have been selected for the forthcoming anthologies for being so patient.
Anthologies 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 [remembering, I know the way, the light dying, the rain and something rare] are now available on Amazon in paperback and kindle.

All 5 Dua Anthologies – remembering, I know the way, the light dying, the rain and something rare 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.

My wish, as is for the Gembun, is for the Dua Anthology to also become a fluid and ongoing series for showcasing the best of the Dua genre with your dua moonbeams. That will not change for now.

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

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
www.thecherita.com
storyteller oasis

1 January 2024

The Cherita and The Gembun
[22 June 1997] & [12 June 1997]
are both now 27 Years Old
with an ebullient Dua at their heels

nomad
#7:8 of the cherita
edited by ai li

*
something rare
dua anthology 5
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 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 2000 views for my Rhyvers essay on Cherita, Gembun and Dua, which appeared on 16 September 2023, with 900 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’.

Happy New Year to all our poets and readers. May 2024 be one of fresh hopes and new beginnings for all of us.

I hope you have all had time to recharge over the holidays. I know I over-indulged and rested more than usual, bracing muse and I for 2024. My new year resolution will be one of giving myself more poetic challenges for 2024, and of launching more storytelling books on Amazon whose distribution powers cover so much of the globe.

nomad is our first edition for 2024. 82 editions of the cherita are now available on Amazon in paperback and kindle, and so are 9 Gembun Anthologies along with 5 Dua Anthologies, with more on their way.

nomad is our 82nd 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.

something rare, our dua anthology 5 has also launched alongside nomad to welcome in a new year for us all.

This edition of nomad showcases 90 fine cherita and cherita terbalik from writers and poets who hail from UK, USA, Singapore, Canada, Germany, Australia, Japan, India and Sri Lanka.

There’s one noticeable change, which started with October’s edition of the cherita, and which will be gradually be rolled out through to the gembun and dua anthologies. This edition, as with October’s edition, 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.

nomad, currently 82nd 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/ Larry Kimmel/ Jackie Chou/ Kathabela Wilson/ Joanna Ashwell/ Debbie Strange/ Ash Green/ Bryan Rickert/ Allison Douglas-Tourner/ Jan Stretch/ Pete Taylor/ Pitt Büerken/ Stella Damarjati/ kris moon kondo/ Sigrid Saradunn/ Partha Sarkar/ Radhika De Silva/ Teri Messmer/ Barry J. Vitcov/ Laughing waters/ Lee Hudspeth/ Robert Horrobin/ James Haddad/

Three sample Cherita from nomad :-

the tilt
of feet

a
step
away

from flight

Joanna Ashwell

strip light
coming on
at dusk

driving through
this

one horse town

ai li

view of the sky

I will always
be here waiting

to open
a window
for you

Jackie Chou

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

Pitt Büerken/ Allison Douglas-Tourner/ / Joanna Ashwell/ Jan Stretch/ / Kathabela Wilson/ kris moon kondo/ Rita Melissano/ Jackie Chou/ Lee Hudspeth/ Robert Horrobin/ Laughing waters/

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

something rare which appears alongside nomad, is our belated dua anthology 5, published by the 1-2-3 press, of 92 virgin dua.

something rare, has attracted writers and poets from UK, USA, Singapore, Germany, Canada, India, Australia, Trinidad and Malaysia.

Featured Poets as they appear in something rare :-

James Haddad/ ai li/ Sharon Hawley/ Kathabela Wilson/ Taura Scott/ Richard Matta/ Pitt Büerken/ Larry Kimmel/ Lynne Jambor/ Connie Pittman-Ramsey/ Jackie Chou/ Richa Sharma/ Partha Sarkar/ Rie Sheridan Rose/ Radhamani Sarma/ Eva Damarjati/ Stella Damarjati/ Vijay Prasad/ Orrin/ Gillena Cox/ Norma Bradley/ Vidhi Ashar/ Tim Gardiner/ Ceri Marriott/ Shrehya Taneja/ Sandra Regan/ Farah Ibrahim/ Bryan Rickert/ jharna sanyal/ Ganesh Rajgopal/ Joanna Ashwell/ Sigrid Saradunn/

A dua bella has been awarded to the following writers and poets in the rain for their moonbeams :

James Haddad/ Sharon Hawley/ Pitt Büerken/ Taura Scott/ Lynne Jambor/ ai li/ Larry Kimmel/ Partha Sarkar/ Norma Bradley/ Radhamani Sarma/ Taura Scott/ Kathabela Wilson/ Sandra Regan/ Bryan Rickert/ jharna sanyal/ Orrin/

Here are three sample dua from something rare:-

can the drums of war

be silenced by love ?

Rie Sheridan Rose

my departed parents at the table

i serve Russian tea

Norma Bradley

an old door

that never closed

Kathabela Wilson

This is December’s update on the cherita award :

Here are 3 cherita below by me from my book their wind songs which I hope will further inspire you, if you decide to submit to the cherita award.

old
rattan chair

when i sit

i give
this empty room
sound

ai li
from their wind songs by ai li

the one opening

the courtyard door
is not really there

i
am dreaming
in shot silk

ai li
from their wind songs by ai li

my night kitchen

one bowl
a pair of chopsticks

one spoon
i am
still here

ai li
from their wind songs by ai li

Here is December’s update on the forthcoming Gembun Anthologies 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14:

Anthology 10 will be next in line now that Dua Anthology 5 has successfully launched.

Anthology 14 has now joined the growing Gembun Anthologies.

Anthologies 11 and 12 are now both full and complete and awaiting a final look over by me before getting them ready for their individual launches.

Anthologies 12 and 13 will now have 90 instead of 92 poems within. They are both slowly but surely, emerging with strong story lines, as more and more timeless stories flow in.

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

Meanwhile, 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 – 9 [snow clouds, evening, paper talisman, windswept rain, deepening night, the old, white flowers, coming home and bedtime story] 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.

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.

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 December’s update on the other forthcoming Dua Anthologies 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 :

Anthology 6 should be out after Gembun Anthology 10 if all goes well.

Anthology 7 is complete and awaiting its final proof reading by me.

Anthologies 7, 8, 9 and 10 will now have 90 instead of 92 poems as I try to ensure that all our books gradually keep to that number of poems.

Please do keep writing and sending in your dua stories.

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

Anthologies 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 [remembering, I know the way, the light dying, the rain and something rare] are now available on Amazon in paperback and kindle.

All five Dua Anthologies – remembering, I know the way, the light dying, the rain and something rare 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

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

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
www.thecherita.com
storyteller oasis

N.B.
Currently you receive ongoing news and updates from the 1-2-3 press [on and about the cherita, cherita, gembun and dua]. If you feel that you no longer wish to receive these updates, please unsubscribe. Thank you.