Louchheim wrote three books of poems, With or Without Roses (1966), The Seeing Glass (1979), and Observe the Lark (1985), and two books of nonfiction, By the Political Sea (1970), and The Making of the New Deal (1983). She also wrote the libretto for the opera The Noblest Game (1975), and contributed articles to the Washington Post and the Christian Science Monitor.
Best known as a diplomat, Louchheim lived in DC from 1934 through the death of her first husband in 1973. During WWII she traveled to Europe for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. She worked for the Democratic National Committee in the 1930s through the end of the 1950s. Louchheim was named Special Assistant for Women’s Affairs at the State Department under Pres. John F. Kennedy, and Ambassador to UNESCO under Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson. Her house in Georgetown became a popular gathering place for people in politics and the arts to mingle.