(Covici selected and introduced this Viking Portable Libra...)
Covici selected and introduced this Viking Portable Library volume of John Steinbeck's writings. The first edition appeared in 1943, and a revised and enlarged edition was issued in 1946.
Pascal Covici was an American publisher and editor whose career helped shape twentieth-century literary publishing. He co-founded Covici-Friede, published important early works by John Steinbeck, and later served as a senior editor at Viking Press, where he worked with Steinbeck, Saul Bellow, Arthur Miller, and other major writers.
Background
Pascal Covici was born on November 4, 1888, in Botosani, Romania, and immigrated to the United States with his parents and sister while he was a child. The family settled in Chicago, where Covici's brothers operated retail businesses. He later worked in businesses owned by his brothers before turning to publishing and bookselling.
Covici married Dorothy Soll on August 1, 1915, and they had one son. He was known professionally as Pat Covici. Writers and colleagues described him as energetic, physically imposing, sympathetic, and deeply engaged with the literary people who gathered around his bookstore and publishing offices.
Education
Covici attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and the University of Chicago, studying literature without completing a degree. The University of Michigan, founded in Detroit in 1817 and relocated to Ann Arbor in 1837, had become one of the leading American public research universities by the early twentieth century. The University of Chicago, founded in 1890, was distinguished by its research-centered organization and strong traditions in the humanities and social sciences.
His literary education was therefore shaped by two major Midwestern universities, but his professional formation occurred largely through bookselling, retail management, and practical work in publishing rather than through a completed academic program.
From 1918 to 1922, Covici worked for Waterbury Grapefruit Groves in Bradenton, Florida, where he published a monthly newspaper, managed a nursery, and supervised workers. He returned to Chicago in 1922 and opened a bookstore with Billy McGee, a former priest. The bookstore became a meeting place for writers and artists, and the partners began publishing under the Covici-McGee imprint in 1923.
Covici-McGee issued limited and unconventional books, including Ben Hecht's 1001 Afternoons in Chicago and Fantazius Mallare. The latter led to an obscenity prosecution after postal authorities seized copies; Covici pleaded nolo contendere and paid a fine. McGee left the business in 1924 because of illness, and Covici continued under the name Pascal Covici, Inc. from 1925.
In 1928, Covici moved to New York and formed Covici-Friede with Donald Friede. The firm became known for limited editions and for publishing writers whose work challenged prevailing cultural or legal boundaries. Its publication of Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness led to an obscenity case in 1929; the convictions were later reversed, in a decision that rejected the idea that a book could be deemed obscene solely because of its subject.
Covici-Friede published several important works by John Steinbeck, including Tortilla Flat in 1935, In Dubious Battle in 1936, and Of Mice and Men and The Red Pony in 1937. The firm was liquidated in 1938 after financial difficulties during the Depression, but Covici's editorial relationship with Steinbeck continued.
In 1938, Covici became a senior editor at Viking Press. He brought Steinbeck into the Viking orbit and worked with writers including Saul Bellow, Arthur Miller, Shirley Jackson, Joseph Campbell, Marianne Moore, Lionel Trilling, Ludwig Bemelmans, George Gamow, Willy Ley, and Gene Fowler. He also had primary responsibility for the Viking Portable Library. Steinbeck's East of Eden and Bellow's Herzog were dedicated to him, and Covici's editorial relationship with Steinbeck lasted until his death in New York City in 1964.
Achievements
Covici established a Chicago bookstore and publishing business that became an important meeting place for writers and artists and developed into the Covici-McGee imprint.
Through Covici-Friede, Covici published important early works by John Steinbeck, including Tortilla Flat, In Dubious Battle, Of Mice and Men, and The Red Pony.
As a senior editor at Viking Press, Covici guided the work of John Steinbeck, Saul Bellow, Arthur Miller, Shirley Jackson, and other prominent twentieth-century writers.
Covici held primary responsibility for the Viking Portable Library, a series that brought selected works by established authors to a broad reading public.
(Covici selected and introduced this Viking Portable Libra...)
1943
Views
Covici's editorial philosophy centered on close personal engagement with writers and on encouraging them to develop their strongest work. His career also reflected a commitment to publishing ambitious, unconventional, and sometimes controversial literature, including books that faced obscenity challenges or resisted prevailing commercial conventions.
Personality
Covici was described by writers and colleagues as energetic, sympathetic, demanding, and deeply attentive to authors. His editorial method emphasized personal encouragement and sustained contact with writers as much as textual correction. Steinbeck characterized him as a demanding collaborator and conscience, while other associates emphasized his generosity and ability to motivate authors.
Physical Characteristics:
Covici was described as tall, broad or strongly built, with white hair and blue eyes.
Quotes from others about the person
John Steinbeck described Covici as his editor and wrote that Covici demanded more from him, thereby helping him become more than he otherwise would have been. Saul Bellow dedicated Herzog to Covici and called him a great editor and a generous friend.
Interests
Bookselling, literary publishing, editing, and the development of relationships with writers.
Writers
John Steinbeck, Saul Bellow, Arthur Miller, Radclyffe Hall, Ben Hecht, Richard Aldington, and other writers with whom Covici worked professionally.
Connections
Covici married Dorothy Soll in 1915, and they had one son. His professional partnership with Billy McGee began in the Chicago bookstore and publishing business that preceded Covici-Friede. His long editorial relationship with John Steinbeck continued from Covici-Friede through Viking Press and was documented in extensive correspondence.
Steinbeck dedicated East of Eden to Covici and described him as a collaborator and conscience who demanded more from him as a writer. Covici also maintained important editorial relationships with Saul Bellow, Arthur Miller, Shirley Jackson, and other writers whose books were published or developed at Viking Press.
Father:
Wolf Covici
Covici's father.
Mother:
Schfra Barish
Wife:
Dorothy Soll
They married on August 1, 1915, and had one son.
Collegue :
Billy McGee
McGee was Covici's bookstore and publishing partner in Chicago and was formerly a priest.
Collegue :
John Steinbeck
Steinbeck was Covici's longtime author, editor, and professional correspondent at Covici-Friede and Viking Press.
