# Is "In Memoriam to Identity" by Kathy Acker a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of In Memoriam to Identity by Kathy Acker (Grove Weidenfeld, 1990) is identified by: Stated first edition on the copyright page, issued in cloth-backed boards with dust jacket (large octavo, 265 pages). True first is the 1990 Grove Weidenfeld (US) hardcover, ISBN 0-8021-1170-8.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Stated first edition on the copyright page, issued in cloth-backed boards with dust jacket (large octavo, 265 pages)
- The first-state jacket carries the collage/photomontage cover art and should retain the original printed price on the front flap (unclipped)
- Publisher imprint reads Grove Weidenfeld
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Kathy Acker |
| Publisher | Grove Weidenfeld |
| Year | 1990 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Stated first edition on the copyright page, issued in cloth-backed boards with dust jacket (large octavo, 265 pages) |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Stated first edition on the copyright page, issued in cloth-backed boards with dust jacket (large octavo, 265 pages). The first-state jacket carries the collage/photomontage cover art and should retain the original printed price on the front flap (unclipped).

## Is this the true first?
True first is the 1990 Grove Weidenfeld (US) hardcover, ISBN 0-8021-1170-8. A UK Pandora hardcover (ISBN 0-04-440568-5) also appeared in 1990; sources do not establish clear month-level precedence between the two, so neither is asserted as preceding the other.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
None notable.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *In Memoriam to Identity* by Kathy Acker a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/in-memoriam-to-identity
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.