Sulima Malzin identifies as an “aging rascal & occasional writer” who is making up for lost time by writing with humor and poignancy about what is important to her and what she hopes will be important to her nine great-grandchildren … namely Love and Justice in all their forms. An elder activist, strongly influenced by the values of Unitarian Universalism and her love of Humanity in all its forms, Sulima considers herself lucky to have been able to learn through direct experience (and not without scars) to accept Life with a capital L on its own terms for the bittersweet journey that it is; a delicate weave of light & dark, joy & sorrow, grace & grit … and to be able to write about it using words that both trudge and dance.
Born in 1939 in rural Connecticut to a Russian mother and German father during a time when ethnic prejudice, racism, and misogyny ran high, Sulima grew up thinking of herself as an outsider, somewhat akin to a “political prisoner.” But this was not the storyline she wanted to follow, and once what she calls her ancestral resilience kicked in and partnered with the unrelenting curiosity she seemed to have been born with, Sulima found herself opening windows that offered views of a more vibrant landscape.
Although she loved playing with words since childhood, and although her writing appeared in print on several occasions, Sulima had not assembled her work into a collection until very recently. Following her retirement from 20 plus years in the field of addiction recovery and another 15 companioning elders with dementia and other “old age is not for sissies” challenges, Sulima has published five books under the Lingua Ink imprint. Included are two editions of Words That Dance, a small volume of (mostly) poetry, Arms Filled With Bittersweet, a hybrid memoir, All in the Soup Together … Four Seasons of Recipes & Reflections (for those who like soup and poetry on the same menu), and her latest chapbook, Tributaries, a thoughtful collection of cento and cento-like poems paying homage to the poets and artists who have influenced her work.
If you are familiar with her website, sulimamalzin.net, or her Substack column, Sulima Malzin, herSelf, you know that Sulima’s writing is not limited to her books. Inspired by a never-ending interest in what keeps Life’s heart beating, her occasional postings of what she calls Light Waves, invite readers to explore with her what she is most curious about, through a kaleidoscope lens of poetry, art, and music.
- KBOO