Covici, known to his friends as "Kai," was born on November 4, 1885, in
Botoșani,
Kingdom of Romania. He was the son of
vintner Wolf Covici and Schifra Barish. At the age of twelve, his family immigrated to
Chicago where his six brothers owned and managed a number of retail stores. He studied at the
University of Michigan and the
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,
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 illustrator
Wallace Smith, and the publishers were arrested. They pleaded
no contest, and had to pay a fine of $1,000. In 1928 he published
The Wild Party by
Joseph Moncure March. The poem was considered lewd and was banned in a number of places, including
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 in
New York City. The play
The Front Page by Hecht and Charles MacArthur and the novel
The Well of Loneliness by
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 but the New York Court of Special Sessions cleared the book of charges of obscenity. In addition to writers like
Gene Fowler,
Wyndham Lewis,
Clifford Odets, and
Nathanael West, their key author was
John Steinbeck, whom they signed in 1934. They published
Tortilla Flat in 1935 and other new and reprinted Steinbeck works. Covici-Friede failed in 1938; in 1943,
Crown Publishing purchased the firm's assets.
Viking Press In 1938, Covici moved to
Viking Press, where he convinced Steinbeck to sign. Viking published
The Grapes of Wrath (1939), which received a 1940
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Overall, Covici's association with Steinbeck was long-lasting and highly honored by both sides. Covici also worked on the
Viking Portable Library and with authors like
Joseph Campbell,
Ludwig Bemelmans,
Gilbert Highet,
Lionel Trilling,
Arthur Miller,
George Gamow,
Shirley Jackson,
Willy Ley,
Marianne Moore, and
Saul Bellow. Bellow's novel
Herzog, Steinbeck's
East of Eden, and Jackson's
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 ==