# Is "Imitations" by Robert Lowell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Imitations by Robert Lowell (Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, 1961) is identified by: Loose translations/versions after Homer, Baudelaire, Rilke, Montale, Pasternak, Rimbaud and others. US Farrar, Straus & Cudahy; precedes Faber & Faber UK (1962).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Loose translations/versions after Homer, Baudelaire, Rilke, Montale, Pasternak, Rimbaud and others
- First edition, first printing, Farrar, Straus & Cudahy; cloth with dust jacket
- First printing per convention (no later-impression statement)
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus & Cudahy
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Lowell |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus & Cudahy |
| Year | 1961 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Loose translations/versions after Homer, Baudelaire, Rilke, Montale, Pasternak, Rimbaud… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Loose translations/versions after Homer, Baudelaire, Rilke, Montale, Pasternak, Rimbaud and others. First edition, first printing, Farrar, Straus & Cudahy; cloth with dust jacket. First printing per convention (no later-impression statement).

## Is this the true first?
US Farrar, Straus & Cudahy; precedes Faber & Faber UK (1962). Awarded the 1962 Bollingen Prize for translation.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Imitations* by Robert Lowell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/imitations
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.