2022 – Cherita and Gembun’s Silver Jubilee year
22 June 1997 – 22 June 2022
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no footsteps
edition #5:12 of the cherita
edited by ai li
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After taking time off to re-energise after two years of non-existent travel, I soon found myself communing with spirit of place at Lake Windermere in the Lake District. Here are two photographs www.thecherita.com/announcements/ one taken from my room where my days were spent writing near water, and the other of my nights warmed by a large blazing outdoor open fire pit whilst gazing at the Plough and other stars of the firmament. The urbanite in me was mesmerised by the absence of light pollution [when I switched off the boathouse lights] and the nearby cry of a lone owl, having momentarily forgotten how wondrous and majestic nature is.
May takes us even closer to Cherita and Gembun’s 25th Silver Jubilee birthday and sees the launch of the latest edition of the cherita and my second book of virgin gembun.
This edition of no footsteps showcases 92 fine cherita and cherita terbalik from writers and poets who hail from UK, USA, Singapore, India, New Zealand, The Philippines, Germany, Australia, Bulgaria, Romania and Canada.
no footsteps is our fifth book for Cherita’s Silver Jubilee Year of 2022. This is also our 62nd edition in the cherita series of storytelling books.
Here is May’s update on the proposed Gembun Anthology – The anthology is shaping up splendidly, and with a bit of luck, early Autumn may see the launch of your accepted Gembun for this special storytelling book. I have been doubly excited and hugely impressed by the quality of work submitted for consideration and would like to thank you all for your fantastic efforts with this genre.
Meanwhile, Anthologies 2, 3 and 4 are also coming along really well too with strong submitted work so please keep sending in your gembun. My wish is to keep these special anthologies of gembun top notch so that they will stand the test of time.
As long as good and strong gembun are being submitted, I will continue with the publishing of these anthologies.
My wish is for the Anthology to become a series for showcasing the best of the Gembun genre with the gifts from your writing.
Gembun and Cherita share the same year of birth and they will be celebrating storytelling with Life, Love, Loss and Renewal this jubilee year and hopefully beyond.
Full details on the link below if you have not, as yet, sent in your Gembun/Gembun Terbalik for consideration.
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The Gembun [1-3 or 1-4] was created on 12 June 1997 and Cherita on 22 June 1997, and they will both celebrate their Silver Jubilee in June 2022. Gembun is also a minimal and unique linked form that consists of either a one-word or one sentence first link, followed by a haiku of up to 4 lines. Gembun has to include an element of suggestion in either the opening sentence/link, the haiku or in both.
Gembun Terbalik [3-1 or 4-1] now joins this minimal form and is an inverted Gembun. It is written with a haiku of 3 or 4 lines as its opening stanza and then capped by a one liner. Six new virgin examples of mine can be seen on www.thecherita.com/gembun/
The Gembun and Gembun Terbalik have to include an element of suggestion in either the opening sentence or haiku, the haiku or opening sentence or in both. Gembun was created by ai li on the 12 June 1997, inspired by Larry Kimmel’s TIBUN. www.aili.co.uk/gembun/
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
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The Gembun [1-3 or 1-4]
was created on 12 June 1997 and Cherita on 22 June 1997, and they will both celebrate their silver jubilee in June 2022. Gembun is also a minimal and unique linked form that consists of either a one-word or one sentence first link, followed by a haiku of up to 4 lines. Gembun has to include an element of suggestion in either the opening sentence/link, the haiku or in both.
Gembun Terbalik [3-1 or 4-1]
now joins this minimal form and is an inverted Gembun. It is written with a haiku of 1 – 3 or 4 lines as its opening stanza and then capped by a one liner. Six new virgin examples of mine can be seen on www.thecherita.com/gembun/
The Gembun and Gembun Terbalik have to include an element of suggestion in either the opening sentence or haiku, the haiku or opening sentence or in both. Gembun was created by ai li on the 12 June 1997, inspired by Larry Kimmel’s TIBUN. www.aili.co.uk/gembun/
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
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no footsteps belongs to the ongoing the cherita series, currently 62nd on the list, as do my personal ongoing writing in one breath series of 25 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.
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 :-
Jackie Chou/ S. Radhamani/ Alan Peat/ Cynthia Anderson/ Kath Abela Wilson/ ai li/ Larry Kimmel/ Patricia Prime/ Madeleine Basa Vinluan/ Barun Saha/ Keith Evetts/ Sherry Grant/ Daniela Becher/ Connie Pittman Ramsey/ Kath Abela Wilson/ Isabella Kramer/ James Haddad/ Geoffrey Winch/ Taura Scott/ Mona Bedi/ Joanna Ashwell/ Partha Sarkar/ Peter Jastermsky/ Lorraine A Padden/ Richa Sharma/ Ruth Kay/ Steve Brisendine/ steve dent/ Keitha Keyes/ Tsanka Shishkova/ Stanley E Denny/ Ram Chandran/ M.J. Iuppa/ Kelly Sauvage/ Réka Nyitrai/ Jason Heroux/ David Cox/
A SAMPLE from this edition :-
resting
outside the clutter
of doing
I watch
my breath
deepen
Cynthia Anderson
The cherita lighthouse has been awarded to the following writers and poets in this edition for their timeless Cherita :
Cynthia Anderson/ Kath Abela Wilson/ Jackie Chou/ Larry Kimmel/ Keith Evetts/ Sherry Grant/ Connie Pittman Ramsey/ Stella Damarjati/ S. Radhamani/ steve dent/
no footsteps has been edited to be experienced two ways. It can be read as a storybook and as an anthology of individual poems.
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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 a feedback directly to me. Many thanks.
ai li
editor
www.thecherita.com
storyteller oasis