# Is "A Secretary to the Spirits" by Ishmael Reed a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Secretary to the Spirits by Ishmael Reed (NOK Publishers, 1978) is identified by: NOK Publishers, New York, 1978, first edition. True first is the 1978 NOK Publishers edition; the cloth issue and the wrappers issue are both first-edition states with no established priority.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- NOK Publishers, New York, 1978, first edition
- A collection of poems illustrated throughout with mixed-media collage graphics that Betye Saar was commissioned to create for the book (begun in 1975)
- Issued simultaneously in cloth and in wrappers with no established priority; the cloth issue is bound in black composite boards lettered in gilt to the cover and spine
- A scarce and elusive title in Reed's canon
- Publisher imprint reads NOK Publishers
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ishmael Reed |
| Publisher | NOK Publishers |
| Year | 1978 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | NOK Publishers, New York, 1978, first edition |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
NOK Publishers, New York, 1978, first edition. A collection of poems illustrated throughout with mixed-media collage graphics that Betye Saar was commissioned to create for the book (begun in 1975). Issued simultaneously in cloth and in wrappers with no established priority; the cloth issue is bound in black composite boards lettered in gilt to the cover and spine. A scarce and elusive title in Reed's canon.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the 1978 NOK Publishers edition; the cloth issue and the wrappers issue are both first-edition states with no established priority.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition. Note that the book exists in two simultaneous binding states (cloth and wrappers).

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Secretary to the Spirits* by Ishmael Reed a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-secretary-to-the-spirits
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.