# Is "Native Guard" by Natasha Trethewey a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Native Guard by Natasha Trethewey (Houghton Mifflin, 2006) is identified by: Won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry; Trethewey later served as US Poet Laureate. The US Houghton Mifflin edition (2006) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
- Trethewey later served as US Poet Laureate
- The first edition was published by Houghton Mifflin in 2006 (ISBN 9780618604630), with the publisher's first-edition conventions and the full number line on the copyright page; issued in black paper-covered boards with dust jacket
- Publisher imprint reads Houghton Mifflin
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Natasha Trethewey |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
| Year | 2006 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry; Trethewey later served as US Poet Laureate. The first edition was published by Houghton Mifflin in 2006 (ISBN 9780618604630), with the publisher's first-edition conventions and the full number line on the copyright page; issued in black paper-covered boards with dust jacket.

## Is this the true first?
The US Houghton Mifflin edition (2006) is the true first. The first issue precedes a later reissue that added a Pulitzer Prize seal, a redesigned cover, and an accompanying CD, so an early copy without the Pulitzer seal and CD indicates the first issue.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Native Guard* by Natasha Trethewey a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/native-guard
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.