# Is "Kora in Hell: Improvisations" by William Carlos Williams a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Kora in Hell: Improvisations by William Carlos Williams (The Four Seas Company, 1920) is identified by: First edition of Williams's prose-poem "improvisations," bound in publisher's plain dull gray paper-covered boards, with an abstract frontispiece drawing by Stuart Davis. Four Seas (Boston) is the true first; no prior edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition of Williams's prose-poem "improvisations," bound in publisher's plain dull gray paper-covered boards, with an abstract frontispiece drawing by Stuart Davis
- Four Seas Company imprint, Boston
- Publisher imprint reads The Four Seas Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William Carlos Williams |
| Publisher | The Four Seas Company |
| Year | 1920 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition of Williams's prose-poem "improvisations," bound in publisher's plain dull… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition of Williams's prose-poem "improvisations," bound in publisher's plain dull gray paper-covered boards, with an abstract frontispiece drawing by Stuart Davis. Four Seas Company imprint, Boston.

## Is this the true first?
Four Seas (Boston) is the true first; no prior edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition relevant to the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Kora in Hell: Improvisations* by William Carlos Williams a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/kora-in-hell-improvisations
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.