1 September 2025
4 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]
Ta da [b. 15 May 2022]
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the stone
cherita 102
edited by ai li
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another night
the very first book of ta da
by ai li
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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 5200 views for my Rhyvers essay on Cherita, Gembun and Dua, which appeared on 16 September 2023, with 3400 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’.
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September not only brings you Book 102 of the cherita – the stone, but the launch of another night, my very first book of 90 virgin ta da – a new and unique minimal short form genre which was created by me at 7.30 am on Sunday 15 may 2022.
There are now 101 anthologies of the cherita, and they are all available on Amazon in paperback and kindle, along with 19 Gembun Anthologies, and 15 Dua Anthologies, with more coming your way.
Book 102 of the cherita – the stone is for your September 2025 reading and another night by ai li is our first ever ta da Anthology, both of which are imbued with 90 virgin poems.
There are now 102 anthologies of the cherita, and they are all available on Amazon in paperback and kindle, along with 19 Gembun Anthologies, and 15 Dua Anthologies, with more coming your way.
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the stone is our Book 102 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 stone showcases 90 fine cherita and cherita terbalik from writers and poets who hail from UK, USA, Singapore, India, Japan, Bulgaria, Canada, Germany and Italy.
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the stone, currently Book 102, belongs to the ongoing the cherita series, as do my personal ongoing writing in one breath series of virgin Cherita, Cherita and Tanka, Cherita and Haiku, and Cherita, Tanka and Haiku books, and lastly my poems for inner rooms series with its 18 Tanka and Haiku books. All these books are available in paperback and kindle on Amazon.
Two of my own books of virgin Gembun, the weight of rain and blank screen, and my two books of Dua, the journey east and dancing shoes, and now arriving nowhere, my first cherita, gembun and dua book, have all been added to my writing in one breath series.
I have edited this book as I have all the other anthologies of the cherita, to be experienced two ways. It can be read as one storybook but also as an anthology of individual poems. Two reading experiences within one book, filled with stories of Life, Love, Loss and Renewal.
Cherita terbalik continues to capture the imagination of poets and there are again fine examples in this edition.
# For all acceptance letters for Cherita before 7 April 2025, for our forthcoming Anthologies – Books 103, 104, 105 and 106, please be aware that your acceptance letters should have read ‘for the fourth quarter 2025 and not ‘for the first quarter of 2026’. Your accepted cherita will now appear much earlier. Please accept my sincere apologies. I will have to have a serious word with my Dyslexia. #
Featured Poets as they appear in this anthology :-
ai li/ Peter Jastermsky/ Larry Kimmel/ Partha Sarkar/ Jackie Chou/ Kathabela Wilson/ kris moon kondo/ Rita Melissano/ Diana Teneva/ Robert Horrobin/ Nicholas Gentile/ Teri Mesmer/ Taura Scott/ Norma Bradley/ Lee Hudspeth/ Joanna Ashwell/ Jan Stretch/ Patricia Allen Smith/ Eva Joan/ Arvinder Kaur/ Penny Lowery/ Pitt Büerken/ Isabella Kramer/ Barbara Anna Gaiardoni/ Laughing Waters/ C. X. Turner/ Dennis Owen Frohlich/ Ceri Marriott/ Barry J. Vitcov/ Leslie Umans/ Leon Tefft/
Six sample virgin Cherita from this anthology :-
is love
too trivial
to be
remembered
on
valentine’s day?
Partha Sarkar
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heart snatcher
a puppeteer
pulling my strings
my soul
air-born
tapdancing on coal
Joanna Ashwell
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found
in an old box
your letter
and the urge
to find
you again
Teri Messmer
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an unfinished painting
of a butterfly
how can I soar
with
missing
sleeves
Jackie Chou
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a baby cloud
drifts to distant skies
in the mirror rust
a reflection
of fading light
the wrinkles deepen
Arvinder Kaur
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you will be leaving at 2 am
too late
for
a bedtime story
too early
for dawn
ai li
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the cherita lighthouse has been awarded to the following writers and poets in this anthology for their timeless Cherita :
Jackie Chou/ Kathabela Wilson/ Diana Teneva/ Norma Bradley/ Joanna Ashwell/ Jan Stretch/ Patricia Allen Smith./ Taura Scott/ Arvinder Kaur/ Penny Lowery/ Isabella Kramer/ C. X. Turner/ Ceri Marriott/ Leslie Umans/
the stone 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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another night is the first ta tada anthology by ai li, and it appears alongside the stone this month.
Six sample virgin ta da by ai li from her first book of ta da – another night :-
a lone hare
its dusk
is
also mine
ai li
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a
new cobweb
my shed
has life again
ai li
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he was here
you know
he left
roses
ai li
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pole dancing
in her living room
in the dark
of bourbon
ai li
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bedside clock
wall clock
time is not
on your side
ai li
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so alert
after your kiss
a dull day
has become Paris
ai li
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I have enjoyed the challenge of selecting and collating for this edition of the cherita and of any other new books from either our 1-2-3 press or our the empty press, and hope that you will find the poems within worthy of a campfire gathering and the sharing of meaningful stories.
If this new book or books strikes or strike a chord with you, please feel free to review, comment on Amazon or give feedback directly to me. It would be much appreciated. Many thanks.
ai li
editor
creator of cherita, gembun, dua and ta da
and of 18 other unique and original linked forms
www.thecherita.com
storyteller oasis
copyright © ai li 2025