# Is "In Country Sleep and Other Poems" by Dylan Thomas a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of In Country Sleep and Other Poems by Dylan Thomas (New Directions, New York, 1952) is identified by: First edition, New Directions, New York, 1952. The US edition is the true first — an uncommon case for Thomas.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, New Directions, New York, 1952
- 34 pp.; six poems — 'Over Sir John's Hill', 'Poem on His Birthday', 'Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night', 'Lament', 'In the White Giant's Thigh' and 'In Country Sleep'
- A duotone portrait of Thomas by Marion Morehouse is tipped onto the title page
- Two issues, both 1952: a signed limited issue of 100 copies on Stoneridge paper, bound in beige cloth lettered in gilt and housed in a slipcase with a printed label; and an unsigned trade issue of 5,000 copies on Kilmory paper in green to blue-green paper-covered boards lettered in brown on spine and front board, in a priced jacket (price present at the flap)
- Recorded as Rolph B15
- Publisher imprint reads New Directions, New York
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dylan Thomas |
| Publisher | New Directions, New York |
| Year | 1952 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | First edition, New Directions, New York, 1952 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, New Directions, New York, 1952. 34 pp.; six poems — 'Over Sir John's Hill', 'Poem on His Birthday', 'Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night', 'Lament', 'In the White Giant's Thigh' and 'In Country Sleep'. A duotone portrait of Thomas by Marion Morehouse is tipped onto the title page. Two issues, both 1952: a signed limited issue of 100 copies on Stoneridge paper, bound in beige cloth lettered in gilt and housed in a slipcase with a printed label; and an unsigned trade issue of 5,000 copies on Kilmory paper in green to blue-green paper-covered boards lettered in brown on spine and front board, in a priced jacket (price present at the flap). Recorded as Rolph B15.

## Is this the true first?
The US edition is the true first — an uncommon case for Thomas. New Directions, New York, 1952 is the only separate edition of this title; no separate UK edition of In Country Sleep has been traced in dealer or library records consulted. In Britain the six poems appeared within Collected Poems 1934–1952 (J. M. Dent, London, 1952), a collected volume rather than a competing first of this title. Within the New Directions edition, the signed limited issue of 100 copies and the trade issue of 5,000 are both dated 1952; firm priority between the two is not documented in the sources consulted.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue documented for this title. The common 'first thus' traps are later New Directions printings and the poems' collected appearance (Dent, London, 1952; New Directions, New York, 1953). Absence of the tipped-in Morehouse portrait from the title page, or a jacket lacking the price at the flap, should prompt closer examination of the copy.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *In Country Sleep and Other Poems* by Dylan Thomas a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/in-country-sleep-and-other-poems
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.