when it rains - the cherita

1 January 2025

Three unique short form genres created by ai li
that honour storytelling and keep its breath alive

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

when it rains
cherita 94
edited by ai li

*

hammock afternoon
dua 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 3900 views for my Rhyvers essay on Cherita, Gembun and Dua, which appeared on 16 September 2023, with 2200 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’.

when it rains is our 13th book for 2024 of our eighth year. 94 anthologies of the cherita are now in existence and are available on Amazon in paperback and kindle, along with 16 Gembun Anthologies, and 12 Dua Anthologies, with more soon on their way.

when it rains is our 94th 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.

*

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

when it rains, currently 94th on the list, belongs to the ongoing the cherita series, as do my personal ongoing writing in one breath series of virgin Cherita, Cherita and Tanka, Cherita and Haiku, and Cherita, Tanka and Haiku books, and lastly my poems for inner rooms series with its 18 Tanka and Haiku books. All these books are available in paperback and kindle on Amazon.

Two of my own books of virgin Gembun, the weight of rain and blank screen, and my two books of Dua, the journey east and dancing shoes, and now arriving nowhere, my first cherita, gembun and dua book, have all been added to my writing in one breath series.

I have edited this book as I have all the other anthologies of the cherita, to be experienced two ways. It can be read as one storybook but also as an anthology of individual poems. Two reading experiences within one book, filled with stories of Life, Love, Loss and Renewal.

Cherita terbalik continues to capture the imagination of poets and there are again fine examples in this edition.

Featured Poets as they appear in this anthology :-

ai li/ Peter Jastermsky/ Michelle Farrell/ Jennifer Rood/ Pitt Büerken/ Barry J. Vitcov/ Sharon Hawley/ Tim Callahan/ James Haddad/ Jan Stretch/ Kathabela Wilson/ Jackie Chou/ Lee Hudspeth/ Karina Klesko/ Partha Sarkar/ Sigrid Saradunn/ Roy Kindelberger/ Bill Waters/ Debbie Strange/ Teri Messmer/ Thomas DeFreitas/ Paulette Calasibetta/ Nicholas Gentile/ Barbara Anna Gaiardoni/ Barun Saha/ Joanna Ashwell/ Diane Funston/

Six sample virgin Cherita from this anthology :-

far down the street

he saw them step
behind
an ancient maple

and he knew they
kissed

Larry Kimmel

speaking
for myself

the part
that forgives
me

not

Peter Jastermsky

sorting through

the paint tubes
on my desk

I wonder
what colours my pain
will be today

Debbie Strange

seven cups
since the morning

the coffee maker
in the pantry
pouring

your perfume

Barun Saha

laying on a bed
of pine needles

soft and cool

listening
to your piano
take me home

Teri Messmer

in
the forest

life
still finds
a way
to bloom

Diane Funston

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

Sharon Hawley/ Tim Callahan/ James Haddad/ Barry J. Vitcov/ Kathabela Wilson/ Jackie Chou/ Larry Kimmel/ Bill Waters/ Teri Messmer/ Debbie Strange/ Joanna Ashwell/

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

I have enjoyed the challenge of selecting and collating for this edition of the cherita and of any other new books from either our 1-2-3 press or our the empty press, and hope that you will find the poems within worthy of a campfire gathering and the sharing of meaningful stories.

If this new book or books strikes or strike a chord with you, please feel free to review, comment on Amazon or give feedback directly to me. It would be much appreciated. Many thanks.

ai li
editor

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

www.thecherita.com
storyteller oasis