# Is "Black Zodiac" by Charles Wright a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Black Zodiac by Charles Wright (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1997) is identified by: Winner of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. US FSG edition (1997) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Winner of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
- The first edition was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (New York) in 1997 in hardcover with an illustrated dust jacket, carrying the FSG first-edition / first-printing statement
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus & Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Charles Wright |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus & Giroux |
| Year | 1997 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Winner of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Winner of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. The first edition was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (New York) in 1997 in hardcover with an illustrated dust jacket, carrying the FSG first-edition / first-printing statement.

## Is this the true first?
US FSG edition (1997) is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue; later printings do not carry the first-printing statement.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Black Zodiac* by Charles Wright a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/black-zodiac
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.