 Born in Jakarta, Laksmi was a Minangkabau descent from Sungai Puar, West Sumatra.Her grand father Kasoema Sutan Pamuntjak was an editor of Balai Pustaka and founder of CV Djambatan, a publishing company.Laksmi who writes in Indonesian and English, is the author of two collections of poetry; a collection of poetry and prose; a treatise on the relationship between man and violence based on the "Iliad"; a collection of short stories based on paintings; four editions of the award-winning "The Jakarta Good Food Guide"; two translations of the works of leading Indonesian poet and essayist Goenawan Mohamad, and two best-selling novels.