# Is "Helping the Dreamer: New and Selected Poems 1966-1988" by Anne Waldman a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Helping the Dreamer: New and Selected Poems 1966-1988 by Anne Waldman (Coffee House Press, 1989) is identified by: A paperback original: first edition, first printing in glossy pictorial wraps, 240 pages, published September 1989. True first is the 1989 Coffee House Press wrappered paperback original.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- A paperback original: first edition, first printing in glossy pictorial wraps, 240 pages, published September 1989
- No hardcover trade edition was issued, so the first is the wrappered original; confirm the first printing by the absence of any later-printing statement on the copyright page
- Publisher imprint reads Coffee House Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Anne Waldman |
| Publisher | Coffee House Press |
| Year | 1989 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | A paperback original: first edition, first printing in glossy pictorial wraps, 240 pages… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
A paperback original: first edition, first printing in glossy pictorial wraps, 240 pages, published September 1989. No hardcover trade edition was issued, so the first is the wrappered original; confirm the first printing by the absence of any later-printing statement on the copyright page.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the 1989 Coffee House Press wrappered paperback original.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Helping the Dreamer: New and Selected Poems 1966-1988* by Anne Waldman a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/helping-the-dreamer-new-and-selected-poems-1966-1988
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.