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Pascal Avram "Pat" Covici (November 4, 1885–October 14, 1964) was a Romanian Jewish-American book publisher and editor, best known for his close associations with authors such asJohn Steinbeck,Saul Bellow, and many more noted American literary figures, mainly through his position atViking Press.
Covici, known to his friends as "Kai," was born on November 4, 1885, inBotoșani,Kingdom of Romania. He was the son ofvintner Wolf Covici and Schifra Barish. At the age of twelve, his family immigrated toChicago where his six brothers owned and managed a number of retail stores. He studied at theUniversity of Michigan and theUniversity of Chicago but did not graduate from either school, working instead at his brothers' stores.
For several years, he published a monthly newspaper inBradenton,Florida. In 1922, together with partner Billy McGee, he started a publishing company (McGee/Covici, then, Covici-McGee) and bookstore in Chicago. The store became a popular spot for writers, and the company published special, limited edition books, often created for collectors.Ben Hecht's 1922 novel,Fantazius Mallare, published by the firm, was labeled obscene, restricted, and confiscated by post office officials. Hecht, the illustratorWallace Smith, and the publishers were arrested. They pleadedno contest, and had to pay a fine of $1,000. In 1928 he publishedThe Wild Party byJoseph Moncure March. The poem was considered lewd and was banned in a number of places, includingBoston.
When McGee left the company due to health issues in 1924, Covici continued to publish under Pascal Covici, Inc. Several years later, he began a firm withDonald Friede inNew York City. The playThe Front Page by Hecht and Charles MacArthur and the novelThe Well of Loneliness byRadclyffe Hall garnered the company quick success.The Well of Loneliness was seized from Covici-Friede's offices after Friede sold a copy to John Saxton Sumner of theNew York Society for the Suppression of Vice but the New York Court of Special Sessions cleared the book of charges of obscenity.[1]
In addition to writers likeGene Fowler,Wyndham Lewis,Clifford Odets, andNathanael West, their key author wasJohn Steinbeck, whom they signed in 1934. They publishedTortilla Flat in 1935 and other new and reprinted Steinbeck works. Covici-Friede failed in 1938; in 1943,Crown Publishing purchased the firm's assets.[2]
In 1938, Covici moved toViking Press, where he convinced Steinbeck to sign. Viking publishedThe Grapes of Wrath (1939), which received a 1940Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.[3] Overall, Covici's association with Steinbeck was long-lasting and highly honored by both sides.[4]
Covici also worked on theViking Portable Library and with authors likeJoseph Campbell,Ludwig Bemelmans,Gilbert Highet,Lionel Trilling,Arthur Miller,George Gamow,Shirley Jackson,Willy Ley,Marianne Moore, andSaul Bellow. Bellow's novelHerzog, Steinbeck'sEast of Eden, and Jackson'sWe Have Always Lived in the Castle are dedicated to Covici.
Covici died on October 14, 1964. His relationship with John Steinbeck is portrayed in the bookSteinbeck and Covici: The Story of a Friendship, edited by Thomas Fensch.
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