Why a Booktrail?
1982: You would think working in a poetry publisher would be peaceful
Peck & Peck
What you need to know before your trail
Crime is on the rise, muggings are in the streets, and Batter Gray, recent college graduate with a skill that no one wants – an ‘ear’ for poetry – is worried about his future. While all his friends have real jobs, he’s folding T-shirts at the Gap. As for love? No. Not unless you count Sallie Mae, the student loan tyrant. He hears from Sallie all the time.
But when Batter gets a dream job at Peck & Peck, the most prestigious poetry quarterly in the world, his life moves into the literary fast lane. Soon Batter is knee-deep in the secret war between the two Editors in Chief, the famous Peck brothers – twins and enemies – as well as being privy to the private affairs of their thirty-nine editors, whose professed mission is the same: Find originality. Reward creativity. Burn the rest. And by ‘burn’, they mean incinerate.
Because at Peck & Peck, ‘good’ isn’t good enough, ‘interesting’ doesn’t cut it, plagiarists aren’t tolerated, and parolees run the mailroom. Still want to submit your poem? Go with God.
Locations
Reset- America/USA - New York City
- A: Poets House
- B: Poetry Press
- C: Poetry Society of America
Travel Guide
New York City
Located in the centre of Manhattan, most of the novel takes place here. Trouble is, its fictional. There are several places linked to poets and poetry in the city of course and the map shows a few.
In the book, the publishing house is a character in its own right. The design of the facade is something out of Harry Potter it would seem – very ornate.
The story also ventures into the South Bronx- this is to show the gritty, high-crime atmosphere of New York City in 1982. The main part of the novel is set in the poetry publisher.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: Peck & Peck
Destination/location: New York City Author/Guide: Bonnie Garmus Departure Time: 1970s
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