James Dickey First Editions

• Into the Stone and Other Poems (in Poets of Today VII) — 1960 · Charles Scribner's SonsDickey's first appearance in book form, gathered in the 'Poets of Today VII' volume with Paris Leary and Jon Swan and introduced by John Hall Wheelock. Scribner's first printings of this era carry an 'A' on the copyright page as the first-printing tell. True first appearance of Dickey's verse in book form; published only as part of the Scribner anthology, not as a separately issued Dickey title. No book-club issue; the Scribner 'A' on the copyright page is the first-printing indicator.
• Drowning with Others — 1962 · Wesleyan University PressPoetry, 96 pages. Issued simultaneously in cloth and in wrappers per Wesleyan University Press practice; the cloth/wrappers distinction is the issue point. The cloth issue is bound in light grey cloth and was supplied with a dust jacket that carries the original printed retail price on the flap (an unclipped flap is the preferred state). Eleven of the poems first appeared in The New Yorker. US first; Dickey's first book published under his own name alone (his verse first appeared in 'Poets of Today VII', 1960). Cloth and wrappers were issued simultaneously, so neither precedes the other. No book-club issue; the cloth versus wrappers distinction is the relevant issue point. A 1963 printing exists and should not be taken for the 1962 first.
• Helmets — 1964 · Wesleyan University PressPoetry; Dickey's third collection. Per the Wesleyan first-printing convention, issued simultaneously in cloth (light grey, spine stamped in black and green) and in wrappers. The cloth first printing was a small impression in light grey cloth with a price-printed dust jacket. US first; the cloth issue is the collected hardcover form, issued at the same time as the wrappered issue. No book-club edition; the distinction collectors track is cloth versus wrappers, both genuine first-issue formats.
• Buckdancer's Choice — 1965 · Wesleyan University PressPoetry; winner of the National Book Award. Per the Wesleyan first-printing convention, issued simultaneously in cloth (light grey, with a white, pale-blue and black dust jacket) and in wrappers. First printing precedes documented later printings (a third printing dated May 1966 is recorded). US first; the cloth issue is the collected hardcover form, issued at the same time as the wrappered issue. No book-club edition; the distinction is cloth versus wrappers, with later impressions following the simultaneous first issue.
• Poems 1957-1967 — 1967 · Wesleyan University PressCollected poems gathering work from his first four Wesleyan volumes plus new poems. Per the Wesleyan first-printing convention, issued in cloth and in wrappers. The cloth trade first printing dated 1967 is the standard collected first. US first; first-thus collected gathering. A small promotional miniature preview booklet (about 500 copies, largely blank pages with a short introduction) circulated to reviewers and booksellers but is a publicity dummy, not the readable text first edition. No book-club edition; the working distinction is cloth versus wrappers of the 1967 trade issue.
• Babel to Byzantium: Poets & Poetry Now — 1968 · Farrar, Straus and GirouxCollected criticism. 'First Printing' stated on the copyright page; bound in blue cloth-covered boards with the spine lettered in gilt and silver, issued in a price-printed dust jacket with the price present (unclipped) on the front flap. US Farrar, Straus and Giroux first edition, first printing, is the true first; a first-thus gathering of Dickey's essays and criticism. Later impressions revise the copyright-page printing statement away from 'First Printing'; no separate book-club issue confirmed.
• Deliverance — 1970 · Houghton Mifflin CompanyAuthor's first novel. "First Printing" stated on the copyright page; olive cloth, title stamped in green on the spine, green endpapers and a green top-stain. Issued in a price-printed first-state dust jacket. US (Houghton Mifflin, Boston) is the true first; the UK Hamish Hamilton edition of 1970 follows. Book-club edition lacks the "First Printing" statement and the flap price and typically shows a blind stamp on the rear board; a later First Edition Library facsimile also exists and is not the true first.
• The Eye-Beaters, Blood, Victory, Madness, Buckhead and Mercy — 1970 · Doubleday & CompanyPoetry. A signed limited edition of 250 copies (two-toned cloth, slipcased, with a signed limitation leaf) precedes the trade issue. The trade first edition has "First Edition" stated on the copyright page in a price-printed dust jacket. The true first is the signed limited edition of 250 copies, which precedes the stated "First Edition" trade issue. Both are 1970 Doubleday, Garden City. No book-club edition confirmed; later trade impressions lack the "First Edition" statement. The key precedence point is the signed limited issue over the trade issue.
• The Zodiac — 1976 · Doubleday & Company"First Edition" stated on the copyright page; a single long poem adapted from fragments of Dutch poet Hendrik Marsman's verse, bound in red cloth with gilt spine lettering and gilt zodiac signs stamped on the front cover. Issued as a trade hardcover and as a separate signed limited issue. US first edition and first appearance in book form. The signed limited issue carried the author's signature on a publisher's tipped-in leaf and was housed in a slipcase. Later printings drop the "First Edition" statement on the copyright page.
• Alnilam — 1987 · Doubleday & Company"First Edition" stated on the copyright page per Doubleday convention, with no additional printings indicated; Dickey's second novel, following Deliverance, a substantial volume of roughly 682 pages in large octavo, issued in cloth-backed boards. The first-issue dust jacket carries the printed price on the front flap (present, not clipped), matching the Bruccoli & Baughman first-printing description. US first edition, published by Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York, 1987. The Bruccoli & Baughman bibliography records this as A45.I.a, confirming the Doubleday printing as the first. Book-club issues are the tell-tale later state: they carry a blind-stamp (small blind-embossed square or dot) to the lower rear board, are typically printed on lighter bulk, and their jackets lack the printed flap price found on the trade first.
• To the White Sea — 1993 · Houghton Mifflin CompanyFirst edition, first printing with a complete number line descending to 1 on the copyright page (ISBN 0-395-47565-1); an octavo of 275 pages. The spine is lettered in gold and red. First-issue jacket is unclipped with the price printed on the front flap. Dickey's third novel. The US Houghton Mifflin edition is the true first; a UK edition follows. Later printings advance the number line; the trade first was a substantial printing, so book-club copies are less common but when present lack the number line.

More Literary Fiction (US) & Award Winners shelves: James Fenimore Cooper, James Gould Cozzens, James Hilton, James Jones, James Joyce, James McBride.

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