Elizabeth Zott, the feisty 1960s-era chemist in Bonnie Garmus’ mega-selling first novel Lessons in Chemistry , captivated readers with her early feminist point of view and transformative approach to hosting a TV cooking series. Batter Gray, an aspiring poet from Yuba City, California who finds himself caught up in a dynastic family drama in the 1980s New York City poetry world, is a surprising, equally engaging follow-up.

What inspired you to write a new novel that revolves around poetry? I asked Garmus.

“When I was fourteen, I had an English teacher who used to read a poem to us every day. He knew how to make the words come alive—not with theatrics or exaggeration—but with careful meter and tone, and he only ever read us work he thought mattered. That’s how we ended up hearing the voices of Nikki Giovanni, Langston Hughes, W.H. Auden, Yeats, and more. As the year drew to a close, he made us promise we would continue to read a poem a day for the rest of our lives, assuring us it was best way to keep our hearts and minds open. We all agreed. But then came summer vacation and that promise went right out the window.

“It wasn’t until decades later, when I heard his favorite Nikki Giovanni piece being read on the radio, that I remembered that promise. Not feeling like I’d done a very good job keeping my heart and mind open—work was challenging—I started reading a poem a day. Then I subscribed to the Poetry Foundation’s email list .

“Oddly enough, something changed in me. That’s about the time I started imagining a story about someone who, like my teacher, instinctively knew which poems were good and which weren’t (because who does? How can you tell?) But I thought my character would have to be young, unsuccessful, idealistic, and would somehow become the deciding factor in the battle between originality and conformity. These days I print out the poems I love and tack them to my wall. It kind of looks like fluttery wallpaper, especially when the window’s open.”

Jane Ciabattari: Was Peck & Peck always the title (with the ampersand)?

Bonnie Garmus: I tried several last names but settled on Peck because of its multiple and conflicting meanings. To peck at something means to hurt it, but a peck can also be a kiss. Families and companies often have pecking orders which aren’t always fair or wise but persist anyway. When we feel peckish, we’re in want of something elusive. For me, the name Peck not only encompassed the conflicts in the book (between twin brothers, capitalism and social good, originality and conformity) but also captured the constant ephemeral battle of proving how and why art matters.

JC: Batter has a loving father, an idealistic historian at a local college, and a mother, a professional type designer, who shapes his actions with stories about his namesake a forthright and courageous dog named Batter, and her assessments of his moves. How important were these parents in the evolution of Batter as a character?