# Is "A Change of World" by Adrienne Rich a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Change of World by Adrienne Rich (Yale University Press, 1951) is identified by: Rich's first book, selected by W. US true first; a Yale Younger Poets volume.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Rich's first book, selected by W. H. Auden for the Yale Series of Younger Poets (volume 48) and carrying his five-page foreword
- Yale University Press first printing in dust jacket; the Auden foreword is a defining feature
- Publisher imprint reads Yale University Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Adrienne Rich |
| Publisher | Yale University Press |
| Year | 1951 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Rich's first book, selected by W. H. Auden for the Yale Series of Younger Poets (volume 48) and carrying his five-page foreword |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Rich's first book, selected by W. H. Auden for the Yale Series of Younger Poets (volume 48) and carrying his five-page foreword. Yale University Press first printing in dust jacket; the Auden foreword is a defining feature.

## Is this the true first?
US true first; a Yale Younger Poets volume. The Auden-selected debut makes association and signed copies especially desirable.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. Later Yale printings carry printing notes that distinguish them from the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Change of World* by Adrienne Rich a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-change-of-world
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.