# Is "Herald of the Autochthonic Spirit" by Gregory Corso a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Herald of the Autochthonic Spirit by Gregory Corso (New Directions, 1981) is identified by: Paperback original issued in pictorial wrappers as New Directions Paperbook 522 (NDP 522), roughly 57 pages gathering about fifty poems. True first is the 1981 New Directions wrappered paperback original (NDP 522), issued only in wrappers; there was no separate cloth trade first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Paperback original issued in pictorial wrappers as New Directions Paperbook 522 (NDP 522), roughly 57 pages gathering about fifty poems
- The true first carries no statement of a later printing; the copyright page shows the 1981 New Directions imprint
- A first-issue copy in wrappers shows clean, unfaded pictorial covers with the NDP 522 designation, and signed examples exist as Corso occasionally inscribed the collection
- Publisher imprint reads New Directions
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Gregory Corso |
| Publisher | New Directions |
| Year | 1981 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Paperback original issued in pictorial wrappers as New Directions Paperbook 522 (NDP… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Paperback original issued in pictorial wrappers as New Directions Paperbook 522 (NDP 522), roughly 57 pages gathering about fifty poems. The true first carries no statement of a later printing; the copyright page shows the 1981 New Directions imprint. A first-issue copy in wrappers shows clean, unfaded pictorial covers with the NDP 522 designation, and signed examples exist as Corso occasionally inscribed the collection.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the 1981 New Directions wrappered paperback original (NDP 522), issued only in wrappers; there was no separate cloth trade first. It was Corso's first major collection after a long gap, so the wrappered New Directions Paperbook is the form to seek.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition was issued for this title.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Herald of the Autochthonic Spirit* by Gregory Corso a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/herald-of-the-autochthonic-spirit
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.