# Is "New and Collected Poems" by Richard Wilbur a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of New and Collected Poems by Richard Wilbur (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988) is identified by: First printing: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (San Diego), 1988, stating 'First edition' with a full number line on the copyright page, bound with a navy spine lettered in white and gray, in dust jacket. The US Harcourt Brace Jovanovich edition (1988) is the true first; the Faber and Faber (London) edition is the first English.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (San Diego), 1988, stating 'First edition' with a full number line on the copyright page, bound with a navy spine lettered in white and gray, in dust jacket
- Gathers six earlier collections together with twenty-seven new poems and a cantata
- Won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, Wilbur's second
- Publisher imprint reads Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Richard Wilbur |
| Publisher | Harcourt Brace Jovanovich |
| Year | 1988 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | First printing: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (San Diego), 1988, stating 'First edition' with a full number line on the copyright page, bound… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First printing: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (San Diego), 1988, stating 'First edition' with a full number line on the copyright page, bound with a navy spine lettered in white and gray, in dust jacket. Gathers six earlier collections together with twenty-seven new poems and a cantata. Won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, Wilbur's second.

## Is this the true first?
The US Harcourt Brace Jovanovich edition (1988) is the true first; the Faber and Faber (London) edition is the first English.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club affects the true first. The number line advances on later printings.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *New and Collected Poems* by Richard Wilbur a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/new-and-collected-poems
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.