# Is "Alive Together: New and Selected Poems" by Lisel Mueller a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Alive Together: New and Selected Poems by Lisel Mueller (Louisiana State University Press, 1996) is identified by: Winner of the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. US LSU Press edition (1996) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Winner of the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
- The first edition was published by Louisiana State University Press (Baton Rouge) in 1996, issued in both cloth and paper
- First printings carry the LSU Press first-edition statement with an unadvanced number line
- Publisher imprint reads Louisiana State University Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lisel Mueller |
| Publisher | Louisiana State University Press |
| Year | 1996 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Winner of the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Winner of the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. The first edition was published by Louisiana State University Press (Baton Rouge) in 1996, issued in both cloth and paper. First printings carry the LSU Press first-edition statement with an unadvanced number line.

## Is this the true first?
US LSU Press edition (1996) is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue; the number line is unadvanced on the first printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Alive Together: New and Selected Poems* by Lisel Mueller a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/alive-together-new-and-selected-poems
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.