About Me — Lubna Yusuf

I make art and write words

Self Portrait Lubna Yusuf

I make art and write words
Some rhyme and some do not
But I breathe better
when I’m with them

I talk to the leaves, flowers, pots and pans, spoons small and big,
colours, crayons, pastels, paint brushes, photos in my camera,
little birds, the shiny fruits posing in the basket,
the glitter stars on the curtains, Moon that seems to eat itself, rain drops
and to all the writers in my books from the bookshelf

They are the only friends I have
because they seem to always know
what to say, when and just how much
They also know how to sit in silence with me
beside me and just be
So I can be myself
hair undone in my old shirt
I laugh out as loud as I can
or weep my heart dry
they never leave me

I am very rich
ever since I have grown older
I can do all my favourite things and do not need permission from adults
though it makes me think poorly of adults
silly really, they seem to be always sad
pretending to be happy, doing things they do not want all the time

I eat cake and coconuts
and drink my cuppa tea
nodding along with my stuffies
in my own tea party
I wear pretty dresses sometimes
and bangles too, just for me
I brush my hair when no one’s looking
I still want to play Goldilocks, though my hair is too dark

I walk into stores with a grown up grocery list
and tell myself to behave
I do my work and make a living
so I can live to make art and write words

Thank you for reading.
This is a little something about me. I also love to make crafts and embroidery, I make paintings, illustrations and take photographs as all these hobbies make me happy. The Sun, Moon, clouds, green veins on leaves, tiny birds and nature sounds are my inspirations.
I am a plant parent and love growing flowers and herbs in my little space. I work as a lawyer and I am currently based in India. I dream to travel the world and meet all my favourite authors and artists. (Since most of them are in their final resting place, I visit the cemeteries to pay my respects and share a few words.)
In the middle of my legal career, I took a leap of faith and read creating writing at The University of Oxford! I was placed in Exeter College (J.R.R Tolkien began writing ‘The Lord Of the Rings’ here) and I spent most of my time summoning all the creative energies of legendary figures that once breathed in the same place. So it is never too late to chase your dreams.
I have written 8 fiction and 3 non fiction books so far, and they are all available on amazon worldwide. Do drop in a review if you read one!

I love sharing my works on Medium here, as it has no geographical boundaries and I get unbiased feedback and love here.

Here is a little something I shared about my inspiration as an illustrator. You may like to read:

All About Illustrations

All my books are here:

Lubna Yusuf: books, biography, latest update

I’d also like to thank the vibrant community here at ‘About Me’ and applaud the beautiful work created by the editors of this publication. It is so inspiring to read about everyone!

Thank you for your time.