# Is "Death & Fame: Poems 1993-1997" by Allen Ginsberg a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Death & Fame: Poems 1993-1997 by Allen Ginsberg (HarperCollins, 1999) is identified by: US HarperCollins hardcover, 1999, the true first. The trade first is the 1999 HarperCollins hardcover (published in the US in the spring of 1999); the UK Penguin edition followed a couple of months later the same year, so the US issue holds precedence.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US HarperCollins hardcover, 1999, the true first
- First printing is cloth (black boards) with the spine stamped in gilt, states 'First Edition' with a number line ending in 1, and includes a photographic frontispiece; foreword by Robert Creeley, the volume edited by Bob Rosenthal, Peter Hale and Bill Morgan
- Published posthumously (Ginsberg died in April 1997)
- The dust jacket should retain its printed price
- Publisher imprint reads HarperCollins
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Allen Ginsberg |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
| Year | 1999 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US HarperCollins hardcover, 1999, the true first |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
US HarperCollins hardcover, 1999, the true first. First printing is cloth (black boards) with the spine stamped in gilt, states 'First Edition' with a number line ending in 1, and includes a photographic frontispiece; foreword by Robert Creeley, the volume edited by Bob Rosenthal, Peter Hale and Bill Morgan. Published posthumously (Ginsberg died in April 1997). The dust jacket should retain its printed price.

## Is this the true first?
The trade first is the 1999 HarperCollins hardcover (published in the US in the spring of 1999); the UK Penguin edition followed a couple of months later the same year, so the US issue holds precedence.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. Confirm the 'First Edition' statement with the terminal 1 in the number line, as later printings advance the line.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Death & Fame: Poems 1993-1997* by Allen Ginsberg a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/death-fame-poems-1993-1997
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.