# Is "Hawk Moon (stories, poems, monologues)" by Sam Shepard a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Hawk Moon (stories, poems, monologues) by Sam Shepard (Black Sparrow Press, 1973) is identified by: Black Sparrow Press (Los Angeles) 1973, subtitled A Book of Short Stories, Poems, and Monologues, printed from a single first-edition setting with a colophon/limitation leaf. The signed hardcover copies (numbered and lettered) and the trade wrappers are all part of the same 1973 first edition issued simultaneously; the signed hardcovers are the more desirable issue but do not textually precede the wrappers.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Black Sparrow Press (Los Angeles) 1973, subtitled A Book of Short Stories, Poems, and Monologues, printed from a single first-edition setting with a colophon/limitation leaf
- The issue structure is about 1,000 trade copies in stiff illustrated wrappers, plus 226 hardcover copies bound in boards, numbered and signed by Shepard, of which 26 are lettered
- Publisher imprint reads Black Sparrow Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Sam Shepard |
| Publisher | Black Sparrow Press |
| Year | 1973 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Black Sparrow Press (Los Angeles) 1973, subtitled A Book of Short Stories, Poems, and… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Black Sparrow Press (Los Angeles) 1973, subtitled A Book of Short Stories, Poems, and Monologues, printed from a single first-edition setting with a colophon/limitation leaf. The issue structure is about 1,000 trade copies in stiff illustrated wrappers, plus 226 hardcover copies bound in boards, numbered and signed by Shepard, of which 26 are lettered.

## Is this the true first?
The signed hardcover copies (numbered and lettered) and the trade wrappers are all part of the same 1973 first edition issued simultaneously; the signed hardcovers are the more desirable issue but do not textually precede the wrappers.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Hawk Moon (stories, poems, monologues)* by Sam Shepard a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/hawk-moon-stories-poems-monologues
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.