Born in Kuwait in October 10 1967 to a Kuwaiti father and a Syrian mother, Dr. Shurooq Amin is an Anglophone poet, an artist with five successful solo art exhibitions, a certified interior decorator, a lecturer, and is the Head of the English Language Unit at the College of Business Administration, Kuwait University. She holds a PhD in Creative Writing and an MA in English Literature. She has appeared on several television interviews on Kuwait TV, Channels 1 and 2, as well as in various Middle Eastern and Kuwaiti magazines and newspapers. She has also given lectures about poetry and writing to school-children in private British schools in Kuwait and poetry readings to students of the American University of Kuwait. Her poems and short stories have appeared various literary journals including Etchings (Ilura Press, Australia); Beauty/Truth: A Journal of Ekphrastic Poetry; Many Colored Brooms; Ekphrasis: A Poetry Journal; The Rose & Thorn Literary E-Zine and Words-Myth: A Quarterly Poetry Journal. Shurooq is a member of many literary and artistic societies, including The Poetry Society (UK), The Poetry Society of America, the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (USA), the Kuwait Arts Association (Kuwait), the International Association of Art, the World Crafts Council (Asia Pacific), and the Certified Interior Decorators International (CID, USA). Shurooq’s cultural diversity stems not only from her Middle Eastern upbringing and British education, but from her extensive travel experiences in Asia and the Middle East, North Africa, North and South America, and Europe. She lives in Kuwait with her husband and three children in a feng-shuied, Mexican/Moroccan-inspired home.

Degrees, Awards, and Certificates:
• PhD in Creative Writing from Warnborough University (specializing in Modern Poetry), 2007.
• Master’s Degree from Kent University, England, in Modern Literature, 1989.
• BA in English Literature from Kuwait University, 1988.
• Diploma in Interior Decorating from Thomson Education Direct, 2004.
• Awarded first prize for her painting in a national art competition in Kuwait, 1984.
• Certificate of Appreciation for the First Kuwaiti Al-Khorafi Biennale in December 2004 from the Kuwait Arts Association, Kuwait.
• Awarded prize for her paintings in the 44th National Day and 14th Liberation Day Exhibition from the Kuwait Arts Association, Kuwait, in February 2005.
• Certificate of Appreciation for being one of four judges in the National Art Competition prepared by the Meridien Hotel in Kuwait in 1997 and 1998.
• Certificate of Appreciation awarded for Poetry Reading at the American University of Kuwait, 2006.
• Three awards for Drama and Theatre, and Certificates of Appreciation, Kuwait University, 1985, 1986, 1987.
• License and certificate in NAUI Scuba Diving from Al-Boom Diving School, Kuwait, 1993.
• PADI Advanced Scuba Diving certification and license from Dive Caroline, Kuwait, 1998.
• First prize in Ballet Performance from the London School of Contemporary Dance, Kuwait, 1979, and awarded several Certificates of Appreciation.

Memberships:
• Member in Kuwait Arts Association.
• Member in International Association of Art.
• Member in World Crafts Council – Asia Pacific.
• Member of The Poetry Society, UK.
• Member of The Poetry Society of America (USA).
• Member of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP, USA)
• Member of the Certified Interior Decorators International (CID, USA).
• Member of the Kuwait University Language Centre Accreditation Committee.
• Member of the Faculty Association, Kuwait University, as well as a member of various committees at Kuwait University.
• Member of NAUI and PADI scuba diving schools.
• Member of KUBBY – Kuwait Board on Books for Young People, 2000-2001.
• Member of the London School of Contemporary Dance from 1974 to 1984.

Exhibitions:
• Participated in her first art exhibition at the age of ten (in 1977) at the Ahmed Al-Adwani exhibition hall in Dahiat Abdullah Al-Salem, Kuwait.
• First solo exhibition in 1994 at Ghadir Gallery in Salhiya, Kuwait.
• Second solo art exhibition, entitled Faces, at Boushihri Gallery in Salmiya in May 1997.
• Third solo art exhibition at the Meridien Hotel in Kuwait City in November, 1997.
• Fourth solo exhibition in 1999 at The Art Shop gallery in Salhiya.
• Fifth, and largest, solo art exhibition at the Kuwait Arts Association in 2002, entitled Wind and Water, featuring forty large oil on canvas paintings based on the Chinese concept of Feng Shui.
• In December 2004 she exhibited at the First Kuwaiti Al-Khorafi Biennale with other Kuwaiti artists at the Kuwait Arts Association, Kuwait.
• In February 2005 she exhibited at the 44th National Day and 14th Liberation Day Exhibition at the Kuwait Arts Association, Kuwait.
• Exhibited in Sharjah with other Kuwaiti artists representing their country, as well as participating in several art exhibitions locally.

Acquisitions:
• Painting acquired by Shiseido company in Paris, 1997.
• Four paintings acquired by the National Council of Culture, Arts, and Literature, Kuwait, 2002.
• Painting acquired by Sheikh Ahmed Abdullah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, 2002.
• Acquisitions with various distinguished people and diplomats.

Publications:
• Her poems and short stories have appeared in several literary journals, including in 2005/2006: Etchings with Ilura Press, Australia; Beauty/Truth: A Journal of Ekphrastic Poetry; and Many Colored Brooms, an online creative writing journal. In 2007: Ekphrasis: A Poetry Journal; The Rose & Thorn Literary E-Zine and Words-Myth: A Quarterly Poetry Journal.
• Published her first volume of poetry, entitled Kuwaiti Butterfly Unveiled, locally in 1994, with a small distribution of 500 copies; and then internationally in 1997 with Minerva Press: ISBN-10:0754106268 and ISBN-13:978-0754106265.