The points of issue
Wesleyan Poetry Series. Issued in cloth (ISBN 0819512117 / 9780819512116) and in wrappers (ISBN 0819522082 / 9780819522085). The hardcover was issued WITHOUT a dust jacket, so a clean cloth copy (no jacket called for) is the scarce collector's form; signed first-printing copies exist.
Is this the true first?
US Wesleyan true first. Won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1994 (also the Kingsley Tufts Award). Samples from Copacetic, I Apologize for the Eyes in My Head, and Dien Cai Dau.
Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Post-award reprints may bear an award notice; the softcover is a true-first issue but secondary to the scarcer cloth.
Frequently asked questions
Is my copy of Neon Vernacular: New and Selected Poems a first edition?
Look for these first-edition points: Wesleyan Poetry Series. Issued in cloth (ISBN 0819512117 / 9780819512116) and in wrappers (ISBN 0819522082 / 9780819522085). The hardcover was issued WITHOUT a dust jacket, so a clean cloth copy (no jacket called for) is the scarce collector's form; signed first-printing copies exist.
How do I tell the first printing from a later one?
Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. US Wesleyan true first. Won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1994 (also the Kingsley Tufts Award). Samples from Copacetic, I Apologize for the Eyes in My Head, and Dien Cai Dau.
Is the book-club edition the same as the first?
Post-award reprints may bear an award notice; the softcover is a true-first issue but secondary to the scarcer cloth.
I have a first edition of Neon Vernacular: New and Selected Poems — what should I do?
If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.