# Pascal Covici > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Pascal_Covici > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Pascal_Covici.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal_Covici > Source revision: 1352414985 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Romanian Jewish-American publisher and editor}} {{more citations needed|date=January 2008}} '''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 as [John Steinbeck](/source/John_Steinbeck), [Saul Bellow](/source/Saul_Bellow), and many more noted American literary figures, mainly through his position at [Viking Press](/source/Viking_Press). == Early life == Covici, known to his friends as "Kai," was born on November 4, 1885, in [Botoșani](/source/Boto%C8%99ani), [Kingdom of Romania](/source/Kingdom_of_Romania). He was the son of [vintner](/source/vintner) Wolf Covici and Schifra Barish. At the age of twelve, his family immigrated to [Chicago](/source/Chicago) where his six brothers owned and managed a number of retail stores. He studied at the [University of Michigan](/source/University_of_Michigan) and the [University of Chicago](/source/University_of_Chicago) but did not graduate from either school, working instead at his brothers' stores. === Early publishing career === For several years, he published a monthly newspaper in [Bradenton](/source/Bradenton%2C_Florida), [Florida](/source/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](/source/Ben_Hecht)'s 1922 novel, ''Fantazius Mallare'', published by the firm, was labeled obscene, restricted, and confiscated by post office officials. Hecht, the illustrator [Wallace Smith](/source/Wallace_Smith_(screenwriter)), and the publishers were arrested. They pleaded [no contest](/source/Nolo_contendere), and had to pay a fine of $1,000. In 1928 he published ''[The Wild Party](/source/The_Wild_Party_(poem))'' by [Joseph Moncure March](/source/Joseph_Moncure_March). The poem was considered lewd and was banned in a number of places, including [Boston](/source/Boston). ===New firm and controversy=== 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 with [Donald Friede](/source/Donald_Friede) in [New York City](/source/New_York_City). The play ''[The Front Page](/source/The_Front_Page)'' by Hecht and Charles MacArthur and the novel ''[The Well of Loneliness](/source/The_Well_of_Loneliness)'' by [Radclyffe Hall](/source/Radclyffe_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 the [New York Society for the Suppression of Vice](/source/New_York_Society_for_the_Suppression_of_Vice) but the New York Court of Special Sessions cleared the book of charges of obscenity.{{cite journal | last = Taylor | first = Leslie A. | title = 'I Made Up My Mind to Get It': The American Trial of The Well of Loneliness, New York City, 1928-1929 | journal = [Journal of the History of Sexuality](/source/Journal_of_the_History_of_Sexuality) | volume = 10 | issue = 2 | pages = 250–286 | year = 2001 | doi = 10.1353/sex.2001.0042 | s2cid = 142799942 }} In addition to writers like [Gene Fowler](/source/Gene_Fowler), [Wyndham Lewis](/source/Wyndham_Lewis), [Clifford Odets](/source/Clifford_Odets), and [Nathanael West](/source/Nathanael_West), their key author was [John Steinbeck](/source/John_Steinbeck), whom they signed in 1934. They published ''[Tortilla Flat](/source/Tortilla_Flat)'' in 1935 and other new and reprinted Steinbeck works. Covici-Friede failed in 1938; in 1943, [Crown Publishing](/source/Crown_Publishing_Group) purchased the firm's assets.{{Cite book| publisher = Gale Research Company| isbn = 0-8103-1724-9| volume = 46| pages = [https://archive.org/details/americanliterary0046unse/page/92 92–96]|editor1= Peter Dzwonkoski | last = Filreis| first = Alan J.| title = American literary publishing houses, 1900-1980.| chapter = Covici-Firede| location = Detroit, Mich.| series = Dictionary of literary biography| date = 1986| chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/americanliterary0046unse/page/92}} === Viking Press === In 1938, Covici moved to [Viking Press](/source/Viking_Press), where he convinced Steinbeck to sign. Viking published ''[The Grapes of Wrath](/source/The_Grapes_of_Wrath)'' (1939), which received a 1940 [Pulitzer Prize for Fiction](/source/Pulitzer_Prize_for_Fiction).[http://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-category/261 "Novel"] The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 8 September 2016. Overall, Covici's association with Steinbeck was long-lasting and highly honored by both sides.{{Cite web|url=https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/uthrc/00028/hrc-00028.html|title = Pascal Covici: An Inventory of His Correspondence at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center}} Covici also worked on the [Viking Portable Library](/source/Viking_Portable_Library) and with authors like [Joseph Campbell](/source/Joseph_Campbell), [Ludwig Bemelmans](/source/Ludwig_Bemelmans), [Gilbert Highet](/source/Gilbert_Highet), [Lionel Trilling](/source/Lionel_Trilling), [Arthur Miller](/source/Arthur_Miller), [George Gamow](/source/George_Gamow), [Shirley Jackson](/source/Shirley_Jackson), [Willy Ley](/source/Willy_Ley), [Marianne Moore](/source/Marianne_Moore), and [Saul Bellow](/source/Saul_Bellow). Bellow's novel ''[Herzog](/source/Herzog_(novel))'', Steinbeck's ''[East of Eden](/source/East_of_Eden_(novel))'', and Jackson's ''[We Have Always Lived in the Castle](/source/We_Have_Always_Lived_in_the_Castle)'' are dedicated to Covici. ===Death and legacy=== Covici died on October 14, 1964. His relationship with John Steinbeck is portrayed in the book ''Steinbeck and Covici: The Story of a Friendship'', edited by Thomas Fensch. == Other works published == * ''1001 Afternoons in Chicago'', [Ben Hecht](/source/Ben_Hecht) * ''Broken Necks {More 1001 Afternoon}'', Ben Hecht * ''Fantazius Mallare, a Mysterious Oath'', Ben Hecht * ''Kingdom of Evil'', Ben Hecht * ''The Coming Struggle for Power'', [John Strachey](/source/John_St_Loe_Strachey) * ''[The Sweet Singer of Michigan](/source/The_Sweet_Singer_of_Michigan)'', [Julia Moore](/source/Julia_Moore) * ''The Childermass'', [Wyndham Lewis](/source/Wyndham_Lewis) * ''[Complete Cheerful Cherub](/source/The_Cheerful_Cherub)'', Rebecca McCann * ''Speakeasy Girl'', Bobbie Meredith * ''Bachelor's Wife'', George A. Bagby * ''Boy Crazy'', Grace Perkins ==References== {{Reflist}} * Ronald S. Marmarelli. "Covici, Pascal Avram"; American National Biography Online Feb. 2000. ==External links== * [http://research.hrc.utexas.edu:8080/hrcxtf/view?docId=ead/00028.xml&query=Covici,%20Pascal&query-join=and Pascal Covici Collection] at the [Harry Ransom Center](/source/Harry_Ransom_Center) at the [University of Texas at Austin](/source/University_of_Texas_at_Austin) {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Covici, Pascal}} Category:1885 births Category:1964 deaths Category:People from Botoșani Category:20th-century Romanian Jews Category:Romanian emigrants to the United States Category:American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Category:University of Michigan alumni Category:American book publishers (people) Category:American book editors Category:20th-century American publishers (people) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pascal Covici](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal_Covici) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal_Covici?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.