# Is "North" by Seamus Heaney a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of North by Seamus Heaney (Faber and Faber, 1975) is identified by: First edition, first impression, Faber and Faber (London, 9 June 1975), catalogued as Brandes & Durkan A12a. The Faber UK edition (9 June 1975, Brandes & Durkan A12a) is the true first; Oxford University Press issued the US edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first impression, Faber and Faber (London, 9 June 1975), catalogued as Brandes & Durkan A12a
- Issued in publisher's light blue cloth with gilt titles to the spine
- The dust jacket is printed on a pale blue ground (notably prone to fading) and reproduces Edward McGuire's portrait of the author on the rear panel; the jacket should retain its original printed price
- Faber issued a hardback in boards and a paperback in wrappers simultaneously on the same date, the hardback being the scarcer trade issue
- A pivotal Heaney collection
- Publisher imprint reads Faber and Faber
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Seamus Heaney |
| Publisher | Faber and Faber |
| Year | 1975 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | First edition, first impression, Faber and Faber (London, 9 June 1975), catalogued as Brandes & Durkan A12a |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first impression, Faber and Faber (London, 9 June 1975), catalogued as Brandes & Durkan A12a. Issued in publisher's light blue cloth with gilt titles to the spine. The dust jacket is printed on a pale blue ground (notably prone to fading) and reproduces Edward McGuire's portrait of the author on the rear panel; the jacket should retain its original printed price. Faber issued a hardback in boards and a paperback in wrappers simultaneously on the same date, the hardback being the scarcer trade issue. A pivotal Heaney collection.

## Is this the true first?
The Faber UK edition (9 June 1975, Brandes & Durkan A12a) is the true first; Oxford University Press issued the US edition. The hardback in cloth and the paperback in wrappers were published simultaneously, with the hardback the scarcer of the two.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Not a book club. Confirm the Faber first impression via the copyright page (no later-impression statement).

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *North* by Seamus Heaney a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/north
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.