# Is "Dien Cai Dau" by Yusef Komunyakaa a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Dien Cai Dau by Yusef Komunyakaa (Wesleyan University Press, 1988) is identified by: Wesleyan Poetry Series. US Wesleyan true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Issued in cloth and in wrappers
- Wrappers issue: ISBN 0819511641 (ISBN-13 9780819511645)
- The clothbound hardcover carries ISBN 0819521639
- and is the scarcer form
- The Vietnam War collection; the title is GI-era slang rendered 'crazy.'
- Publisher imprint reads Wesleyan University Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Yusef Komunyakaa |
| Publisher | Wesleyan University Press |
| Year | 1988 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Issued in cloth and in wrappers |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Wesleyan Poetry Series. Issued in cloth and in wrappers. Wrappers issue: ISBN 0819511641 (ISBN-13 9780819511645). The clothbound hardcover carries ISBN 0819521639 (9780819521637) and is the scarcer form. The Vietnam War collection; the title is GI-era slang rendered 'crazy.'

## Is this the true first?
US Wesleyan true first. The cloth issue is scarcer and generally preferred; the softcover is a simultaneous true-first issue. Signed copies exist.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings add a printing statement; no book-club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Dien Cai Dau* by Yusef Komunyakaa a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/dien-cai-dau
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.