1 February 2025
Three unique short form genres created by ai li
that honour storytelling and keep its breath alive
Cherita [b. 22 June 1997]
Gembun [b. 12 June 1997]
Dua [b. 4 March 2022]
*
snowfall
cherita 95
edited by ai li
*
just before dark
gembun anthology 17
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 4100 views for my Rhyvers essay on Cherita, Gembun and Dua, which appeared on 16 September 2023, with 2400 views the last time I looked, for my You Tube video Cherita interview, which appeared on 30 September 2023, and which The Wise Owl’s Editor Rachna Singh called ‘insightful’.
*
snowfall is our 95th book in the cherita series of storytelling books, with 90 virgin cherita of more timeless stories to hopefully inspire our readers and poets to join our caravanserai of storytellers.
snowfall showcases 90 fine cherita and cherita terbalik from writers and poets who hail from UK, USA, Singapore, India, Germany, New Zealand, Canada and Italy.
snowfall, currently 95th on the list, belongs to the ongoing the cherita series, as do my personal ongoing writing in one breath series of virgin Cherita, Cherita and Tanka, Cherita and Haiku, and Cherita, Tanka and Haiku books, and lastly my poems for inner rooms series with its 18 Tanka and Haiku books. All these books are available in paperback and kindle on Amazon.
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/ Roy Kindelberger/ Bill Waters/ Larry Kimmel/ Diane Funston/ Kathabela Wilson/ Sigrid Saradunn/ Partha Sarkar/ Pitt Büerken/ Teri Messmer/ Paulette Calasibetta/ Jackie Chou/ Karina Klesko/ Nicholas Gentile/ Barry J. Vitcov/ Joanna Ashwell/ Michelle Farrell/ Dan Schwerin/ Barun Saha/ C.X. Turner/ Jan Stretch/ Neena Singh/ Biswajit Mishra/ Daniel W. Brown/ Ceri Marriott/ Barbara Anna Gaiardoni/ Debbie Strange/
Six sample virgin Cherita from this anthology :-
all in black
the people
in
this room
you would have
hated the colour
ai li
*
pocket jungle
how deep
is the darkness
of a root
freshly woven
around my fingers
Joanna Ashwell
*
I read
between the lines
it’s the moment
I learn
fear
her suicide note
Jan Stretch
*
lost
from his heart
I sleep in sorrow
an
oyster’s
pearl
Karina Klesko
*
you speak to me
when I’m light years
away
searching
the Milky Way
for stardom
Jackie Chou
*
your touch
over
morning coffee
lingers
throughout
the day
Barry J. Vitcov
*
the cherita lighthouse has been awarded to the following writers and poets in this anthology for their timeless Cherita :
Karina Klesko/ Partha Sarkar/ Dan Schwerin/ Neena Singh/ Daniel W. Brown/ Barun Saha/ Joanna Ashwell/ Kathabela Wilson/ Jackie Chou/ Barry J. Vitcov/ Nicholas Gentile/ Roy Kindelberger/
snowfall 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
copyright © ai li 2025