# Is "Collected Poems" by Wallace Stevens a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Collected Poems by Wallace Stevens (Alfred A. Knopf, 1954) is identified by: Won the 1955 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the 1955 National Book Award. The US Knopf edition is the true first; there is no prior UK edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Won the 1955 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the 1955 National Book Award
- First printing carries 'First Edition' on the copyright page beneath the Borzoi device
- Published 1 October 1954 to mark Stevens's seventy-fifth birthday; rushed into print, the first printing is noted for containing numerous textual errors
- Publisher imprint reads Alfred A. Knopf
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Wallace Stevens |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
| Year | 1954 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Won the 1955 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the 1955 National Book Award |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Won the 1955 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the 1955 National Book Award. First printing carries 'First Edition' on the copyright page beneath the Borzoi device. Published 1 October 1954 to mark Stevens's seventy-fifth birthday; rushed into print, the first printing is noted for containing numerous textual errors.

## Is this the true first?
The US Knopf edition is the true first; there is no prior UK edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition. Later printings drop the 'First Edition' statement and add a printing history.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Collected Poems* by Wallace Stevens a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/collected-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.