by Sherri Platt
Most people wish to have one successful career in their life – Malka Marom is in the midst of her third.
The singer, documentarian, turned author, is promoting the release of her novel Sulha in Canada, Germany and Greece.
While her different pursuits may sound like they are unrelated they are all linked by one common thread, “‘an exquisite tension that is created by two opposing poles; the striving to attain the mythic dream of the New World – the pursuit of personal happiness and peace – and the longing for the mythic innocence of the Old Country.’ I think this informs almost everything I’ve done – this tension, this pull. I think it also dictates the way I dress, the way I talk, everything.
The seeds of her novel Sulha were planted when Malka went to the desert to prepare her award winning documentary: The Bedouins.
“The Bedouins have a custom of opening their hearts and revealing their secrets only through parables, legends, poems and stories. They inspired me to seek out my own parables, legends, stories and secrets.” says Marom.
The strength of the book lies in its descriptions of desert life. “The desert is a purifying place,” Marom says. “Maybe because it’s a place where life and death are so tightly bound, like flint stones,when you strike one against the other, they spark fire, inspiration, not only for the ingenious ways to survive or the prophetic poetry but for the full power of life.”
Marom doesn’t offer very much about her personal life. “I like to keep my personal life private,” she says. “I’ve been in the limelight ever since a child, but I’ve managed to keep my personal life personal. It is fertile land and because I haven’t talked about it publicly, I can mine it.”
What she does offer is: “A voice to Bedouin women whose way of life kept them not only veiled, but voiceless for centuries. And I hope it also give voice to all the people who are voiceless, not only in the Middle East, but here, too. There are people who are voiceless even today for reasons of country, of an inner censor, fear. Especially women,” says Marom.
‘It’s almost like my karma to give voice to the voiceless.”
Marom is not kidding.
Singing in 14 languages, Malka Marom gave voice to “the voiceless ethnic”. She is now referred to as one of the founders of multiculturalism in Toronto.
It’s kind of hard to pigeonhole her. Just when you think you’ve got her pegged, she goes on to something new. Her life has never been static. Her passion to create has driven her to keep reinventing herself. She’s now working on her second book but who knows where her wanderlust will take her next.
“A work in progress. That is what I call my life.”