Louisa Thomas (born 1981) is an American writer and sports journalist.

Early life and education

Thomas is the daughter of journalist and ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' editor Evan Thomas and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

attorney Oscie Thomas. She graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

''summa cum laude'' with a degree in English in 2004.

Career

Thomas is a contributor to ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' and a former editor and writer at ''

Grantland ''Grantland'' was a sports and pop-culture blog owned and operated by ESPN. The blog was started in 2011 by veteran writer and sports journalist Bill Simmons, who remained as editor-in-chief until May 2015. ''Grantland'' was named after famed ...

''. Her work has appeared in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', '' Vogue'', and ''

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published new works by Jack Kerouac, ...

''. Thomas has published two books: 2017's ''Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams'', a biography of First Lady

Louisa Adams Louisa Catherine Adams (; February 12, 1775 – May 15, 1852) was the first lady of the United States from 1825 to 1829 during the presidency of John Quincy Adams. She was born in England and raised in France. Her father was an influential Amer ...

, and 2011's ''Conscience: Two Soldiers, Two Pacifists, One Family—a Test of Will and Faith in World War I'', about the moral conflicts her family endured during World War I and focusing on her pacifist great-grandfather,

Norman Thomas Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 – December 19, 1968) was an American Presbyterian religious minister, minister, political activist, and perennial candidate for president. He achieved fame as a socialism, socialist and pacifism, pacifis ...

. She is a former fellow at New America. Though much of Thomas's writing is about sports, it is influenced by her studies of poetry; she cites

Wallace Stevens Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879 – August 2, 1955) was an American modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as an executive for an insurance compa ...

as a major influence.

Personal life

Thomas's first marriage resulted in divorce. Her second is to mathematician and former NFL player John Urschel. They have one daughter. Urschel's autobiography, ''Mind and Matter: A Life in Math and Football'', was co-written by Thomas and published in 2019.

Books

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References

External links

Louisa Thomas articles at ''Grantland''

Louisa Thomas articles at ''The New Yorker''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Louisa 1982 births Living people American women writers Harvard University alumni 21st-century American women