# Is "Near the Ocean" by Robert Lowell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Near the Ocean by Robert Lowell (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1967) is identified by: Poems, with a title-page drawing and twenty-one in-text drawings by Sidney Nolan. US FSG first edition of 1967; the Faber UK edition also appeared in 1967, with the US edition generally cited as the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Poems, with a title-page drawing and twenty-one in-text drawings by Sidney Nolan
- First edition, FSG, black cloth with rose endpapers, dust jacket; stated 'First Printing, 1967' with no later printings indicated
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus & Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Lowell |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus & Giroux |
| Year | 1967 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Poems, with a title-page drawing and twenty-one in-text drawings by Sidney Nolan |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Poems, with a title-page drawing and twenty-one in-text drawings by Sidney Nolan. First edition, FSG, black cloth with rose endpapers, dust jacket; stated 'First Printing, 1967' with no later printings indicated.

## Is this the true first?
US FSG first edition of 1967; the Faber UK edition also appeared in 1967, with the US edition generally cited as the true first.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Near the Ocean* by Robert Lowell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/near-the-ocean
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.