# Is "My Alexandria" by Mark Doty a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of My Alexandria by Mark Doty (University of Illinois Press, 1993) is identified by: National Poetry Series selection (chosen by Philip Levine). US Illinois true first (1993); the UK Jonathan Cape edition is later.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- National Poetry Series selection (chosen by Philip Levine)
- Issued in cloth and in wrappers; first printing on the copyright page
- Wrappers ISBN 0252063171 (ISBN-13 9780252063176)
- The University of Illinois Press markets the cloth as the first cloth edition; the cloth issue is the collector's preferred form
- US true first precedes the UK Jonathan Cape edition (ISBN 0224041282 / 9780224041287)
- Publisher imprint reads University of Illinois Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Mark Doty |
| Publisher | University of Illinois Press |
| Year | 1993 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | National Poetry Series selection (chosen by Philip Levine) |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
National Poetry Series selection (chosen by Philip Levine). Issued in cloth and in wrappers; first printing on the copyright page. Wrappers ISBN 0252063171 (ISBN-13 9780252063176). The University of Illinois Press markets the cloth as the first cloth edition; the cloth issue is the collector's preferred form. US true first precedes the UK Jonathan Cape edition (ISBN 0224041282 / 9780224041287).

## Is this the true first?
US Illinois true first (1993); the UK Jonathan Cape edition is later. My Alexandria won the National Book Critics Circle Award, was a 1993 National Book Award finalist, and won the UK's T. S. Eliot Prize (1995). Cloth is the collector's first; softcover is a simultaneous true-first issue.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The UK Cape edition is a later first-thus, not the true first; later printing statements indicate reprints.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *My Alexandria* by Mark Doty a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/my-alexandria
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.