# Is "Crossing the Water" by Sylvia Plath a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Crossing the Water by Sylvia Plath (Faber and Faber, 1971) is identified by: Faber and Faber (London) first edition, 'first published in 1971' so stated on the copyright page, hardcover (64 pages) in priced dust jacket. The Faber hardcover (1971) is the UK true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Faber and Faber (London) first edition, 'first published in 1971' so stated on the copyright page, hardcover (64 pages) in priced dust jacket
- A posthumous 'transitional' collection of poems from the period between The Colossus and Ariel
- Publisher imprint reads Faber and Faber
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Sylvia Plath |
| Publisher | Faber and Faber |
| Year | 1971 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Faber and Faber (London) first edition, 'first published in 1971' so stated on the copyright page, hardcover (64 pages) in priced dust… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Faber and Faber (London) first edition, 'first published in 1971' so stated on the copyright page, hardcover (64 pages) in priced dust jacket. A posthumous 'transitional' collection of poems from the period between The Colossus and Ariel.

## Is this the true first?
The Faber hardcover (1971) is the UK true first. The US Harper & Row edition (also 1971) is a substantially different selection of poems in a different order, so it is a distinct issue rather than the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. The crux is Faber UK precedence versus the differently-selected/ordered Harper US edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Crossing the Water* by Sylvia Plath a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/crossing-the-water
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.