# Is "A Mask for Janus" by W. S. Merwin a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Mask for Janus by W. S. Merwin (Yale University Press, 1952) is identified by: Merwin's first book, selected by W. US true first; a Yale Younger Poets volume with Auden selection and introduction.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Merwin's first book, selected by W. H. Auden for the Yale Series of Younger Poets (volume 49), with an Auden introduction
- Yale University Press first edition, 1952, roughly xiii + 67 pages, bound in original blue paper boards printed in light blue, issued in dust jacket; per Bloomfield and Mendelson's Auden bibliography only about 511 copies were printed, so a fine jacketed copy is scarce
- Publisher imprint reads Yale University Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | W. S. Merwin |
| Publisher | Yale University Press |
| Year | 1952 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Merwin's first book, selected by W. H. Auden for the Yale Series of Younger Poets (volume 49), with an Auden introduction |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Merwin's first book, selected by W. H. Auden for the Yale Series of Younger Poets (volume 49), with an Auden introduction. Yale University Press first edition, 1952, roughly xiii + 67 pages, bound in original blue paper boards printed in light blue, issued in dust jacket; per Bloomfield and Mendelson's Auden bibliography only about 511 copies were printed, so a fine jacketed copy is scarce.

## Is this the true first?
US true first; a Yale Younger Poets volume with Auden selection and introduction. An Auden-association debut.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Mask for Janus* by W. S. Merwin a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-mask-for-janus
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.