Thomas Chatterton Williams is the author of a memoir, Losing My Cool: Love, Literature, and a Black Man’s Escape from the Crowd. He lives in Paris with his wife and daughter.
Thomas Chatterton Williams
A Conversation with Claude Grunitzky
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Thursday, October 22, 2020
A Conversation with Mira Kamdar
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Thursday, September 17, 2020
A Conversation with Lindsey Tramuta
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Thursday, July 02, 2020
A Conversation with Jordan Mintzer
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Thursday, May 07, 2020
A Conversation with Lauren Collins
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Thursday, April 02, 2020
A Conversation with Mathieu Lefevre
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Thursday, March 05, 2020
A Conversation with James McAuley
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Thursday, February 06, 2020
Reaching Out
The best way to escape our current political predicament is to keep talking
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Up in the Air
The majesty of New York City still mystifies
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, October 23, 2019
You Must Be Joking
A comic book, a movie, politics, and race
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, October 09, 2019
Language Unbound
How the words we use influence how we think
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, October 02, 2019
On the Turning Away
Our tendency to ignore human suffering
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, September 25, 2019
License to Chill
Life slows down when you can’t drive
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Existential Split
On feeling the pull of home
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Too Much of a Good Thing
Relief at the end of summer vacation
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, September 04, 2019
Priceless Moments
How having children focuses a writer’s mind
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Life on a Razor’s Edge
The hidden joys of shaving
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Vicarious Pleasure
The joy of seeing a friend succeed
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, August 14, 2019
The Fiction of Race
When will we recognize it as such?
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, August 07, 2019
Rhetorical Rules of Engagement
Shunning those who disagree with us won’t help anyone
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Seaside Sojourns
Fleeing the heat of the French capital
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Step Aside
Do we really want to live in a society where credentials don’t matter?
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Beating the Heat
Brittany is France’s best refuge from soaring temperatures
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, July 03, 2019
Selective Lip Service
Attending an elite college is not an entitlement
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, June 19, 2019
The Best and Worst of Times
A weekend trip exposes France’s contradictions
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, June 12, 2019
Mornings of Stillness and Wonder
How my son is helping me to rediscover the City of Lights
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, June 05, 2019
The Battle of All Against All
What would a truly equal society look like?
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Better Than the Real Thing
The strange pleasure of sports highlights
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Life in Black and White
A new volume commemorates the work of a brilliant photographer of the 1960s
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Scootering Around Town
The automobile’s appeal is in decline thanks to the proliferation of alternatives
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, May 08, 2019
Disconnection in a Connected Age
On the mixed blessing of technological advancement
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, May 01, 2019
A Loss to Paris and the World
The fire at Notre Dame should remind us to see the world’s wonders while we can
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, April 17, 2019
A Life Off-track
A talented historian’s tragic end
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Family Matters
Closing my distance from a distant relation
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, April 03, 2019
Of Poverty and Plenty
California’s homelessness crisis is a moral stain
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Taking the Blame
Should all white Australians be implicated in the actions of one?
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Permanently Shelved
Why collect more books that you can ever read?
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, March 13, 2019
No Place Like …
Finding happiness in small spaces
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, March 06, 2019
The Bitter Truth
A culture exemplified by an over-sweet cuppa joe
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Double Lives
What is truth in an un-heroic age?
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, February 20, 2019
White Out?
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Climate vs. Comfort
How much would you sacrifice to do your part?
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, February 06, 2019
Make Social Media Great Again
… Or at least tolerable
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, January 30, 2019
The Art of Finding Time
(And finding time for art)
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, January 23, 2019
The Great Distraction
Why we talk about anything but climate change
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, January 16, 2019
Dignity and the Individual
Abandon your grievances and strive for the heroic
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, January 09, 2019
An Office of One’s Own
The unlikely liberation of commuting to a desk
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, December 19, 2018
Taking It to the Streets
Darkness descends on the City of Light
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Hip-hop in the Alps
A transcendent mountaintop moment
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, December 05, 2018
Protected by Privilege?
An exercise in illogic
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Bill of Health
The shock of entering the American health-care system
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Guessing Games
What you can tell about people—and what you can’t
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Naked and Unafraid
A place where women, and men too, are comfortable in their skin
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, November 07, 2018
Ein Prosit!
Sometimes wine is the best medicine
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Inane and Insane
Is our world crazier than ever?
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, October 24, 2018
A New Breed of Patriot
Sometimes love of country means defying her laws
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Don’t Tread on Me
When we’re all victims, we’re all enemies
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Strangely Familiar
Some places live in the imagination long before we visit them
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, October 03, 2018
A Sad Story
Sometimes good faith and hard work are not rewarded
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Checkmate
In chess, as in life, there are no guarantees
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Building Brawn
The brain isn’t the only muscle you should train
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, September 12, 2018
City of Wonder
Venice reminds us that life is full of hope and possibility
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, September 05, 2018
Me First
On a peculiar aspect of French culture
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, August 29, 2018
#SelfExile
On waiting for the political tide to change
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Versed in Outrage
A poet’s capitulation highlights the challenges facing artists and intellectuals
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, August 08, 2018
History Is Not Everything
There is more to life than what has come before
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, August 01, 2018
Strangers on a Train
A new perspective born of unexpected kindness
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Time Well Spent
The life-affirming pleasure of childcare
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, May 02, 2018
Kanye and Ta-Nehisi
“This is my life, homie, you decide yours”
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, May 09, 2018
Make Them Work
A different sort of moral obligation
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Workers of France, Unite!
The personal misery of public strikes
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Is 40 the New 30?
On the extended march toward full adulthood
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Fathers and Sons
Shaping up for the big event
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, June 20, 2018
Slowing Down
Thoughts on the imperiled life of leisure
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, June 06, 2018
#AllTheSame?
The danger of categorical thinking
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Opting Out
On the decision to “retire” from being black
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Tabula Rasa
Thoughts on the birth of my son
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, July 11, 2018
The Joys of Outdoor Drinking and Public Nudity
Berliners enjoy small freedoms that most Americans do not
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, April 25, 2018
The Abolition of Boredom
Idle moments are few in the digital age—and that’s okay
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Service With a Scowl
In France, the customer isn’t always right
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Just for Kicks
The peculiar French aversion to shoeshines
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, April 04, 2018
In Praise of Working From Hotels
Even freelancers deserve some creature comforts
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Less Is More
The life-affirming pleasure of culling your shelves
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Keep Your Enemies Close
And they just might become your friends
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, March 14, 2018
“Sit down, be humble”
The inspiring example of one of rap’s modest and thoughtful heroes
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, March 07, 2018
On a Walkabout
The art of going nowhere in particular
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Solar Escape
How Spain helped cure my winter blues
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Too Much of a Good Thing
Americans spend most of their waking hours staring at screens
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Being Black
Considering the veil of race
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, February 07, 2018
Banishing our Biases
The happy possibilities of letting them go
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Let There Be Light
Europe in the record-breaking darkness of winter
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Willfully Unaware
An existentialist on the mysteries of sexual desire
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, January 17, 2018
The Entry-Level Presidency
After Trump, we need a leader who is not only popular but qualified
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, January 10, 2018
The Virtue of Mastery
Dedication, perseverance, and a rapper’s stellar performance
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Combs, Clippers, and Comraderie
Barbershops offer much more than a trim and a shave
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Sensibility and Sense
A petition to remove a painting from the Met misunderstands the nature of art
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, December 06, 2017
Watch the Throne
The royal engagement offers new hope
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Among the Sundowners
Inspiration and aspiration on Martha’s Vineyard
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Light in the Dark
A visit to Weimar yields an unlikely reason for hope
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Categorical Kindness
The hidden racism of polite condescension
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, November 08, 2017
Ghouls, Goblins, and Capitalism
The scariest thing about Halloween is the adults who insist on celebrating it
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, November 01, 2017
Forget Your Troubles
Taking a break from it all in a small California town
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Beyond Statistics
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Borders, Real and Artificial
On Mattias Enard’s novel Street of Thieves
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Carpe Diem
Don’t assume there will always be more time
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, October 04, 2017
The Truth About Privilege
White, rich, tall, handsome ...
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, September 27, 2017
A Sense of Horrors Avoided
On progress and criticism
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, September 20, 2017
El Toro de Majorca
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, September 13, 2017
A New City, a New Project
Moving to Berlin
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, September 06, 2017
Losing Yourself in Italy
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Toxic Shock
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, August 23, 2017
What Do You Owe a Stranger?
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, August 16, 2017
Security Theater
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, August 09, 2017
A Summer Retreat
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, August 02, 2017
A Kind of Homecoming
Transcending the “other” in art
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Holiday Season
Coming to terms with a month of nothing
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Batting Away the Helping Hand
Care and contradiction in the heart of Trump country
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Elegance in Action
It’s what you do, not what you have
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, June 21, 2017
The Other Baldwin
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, March 22, 2017
The Price of Assimilation
Reverence vs. resemblance
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, May 24, 2017
You Can’t Go Home Again
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, May 17, 2017
A Voice From the Swamp
A surprising source of Trump support
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Peak Democracy
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, May 03, 2017
Alien to Ourselves
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Berlin’s Version of “Progress”
No Uber, no smartphones, no stress
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, April 19, 2017
We’re All Different in the Same Way
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Addendum
You can’t have a conversation, if one side isn’t allowed a voice
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, April 05, 2017
Gringo
On strange feelings and constructions of identity
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, March 29, 2017
A Peek Under the Thin Veneer of Civility
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Beating the Odds
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, March 08, 2017
Family Ties
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Cold Shower
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, March 01, 2017
Why Go Home?
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Out of Pocket
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, February 15, 2017
All Trump, All the Time
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, February 08, 2017
The Age of “Ressentiment”
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, February 01, 2017
“From Russia with Apathy and Indifference”
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, January 25, 2017
A Man in Full
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, January 18, 2017
All That Jazz
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Middle-Class Mea Culpa
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, January 04, 2017
On Making the Best of It
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Unwelcome Home
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Neighborhood Haunts, Part 2
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, December 07, 2016
Neighborhood Haunts, Part 1
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, November 30, 2016
No Equal Time for Racists
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, November 23, 2016
It Was All Good Just a Week Ago
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, November 16, 2016
“First on This Planet”
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, November 09, 2016
Seat Backs and Tray Tables
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, November 02, 2016
They Reminisce Over You
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, October 26, 2016
The Real Nanny State
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, October 19, 2016
The Exceptional City
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, October 12, 2016
A House in the Country
If the dream had come true, I might have lost my mind
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, October 05, 2016
Who Are We, Really?
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, September 21, 2016
On the Firing Line
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, September 14, 2016
An Unmonumental Monument
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, September 07, 2016
Two Kinds of People
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Hell Is Lines and Other People
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, August 24, 2016
North-South
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, August 17, 2016
The Global Monoculture
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, August 03, 2016
Franprix
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Unsafe Spaces
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, July 20, 2016
A Bigger Splash
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, July 06, 2016
Greetings from Paris
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, June 01, 2016
Traffic Stop
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Going Native
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Keith Obadike’s Blackness
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, July 13, 2016
#RIP Madness
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Living Like White People
The disorientation of growing up privileged and black
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Monday, September 07, 2015
Roberto Bolaño’s “Last Evenings on Earth”
The unbearable sadness of fathers and sons
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Monday, September 21, 2015
James Baldwin's America
Truths both hard and timeless
by Thomas Chatterton Williams | Wednesday, September 01, 2010
