# Is "On the Poet and His Craft" by Theodore Roethke a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of On the Poet and His Craft by Theodore Roethke (University of Washington Press, 1965) is identified by: Selected prose of Theodore Roethke, edited with an introduction by Ralph J. US University of Washington Press, 1965; first appearance of this posthumous selected-prose collection.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Selected prose of Theodore Roethke, edited with an introduction by Ralph J. Mills Jr
- First edition thus, University of Washington Press, cloth in dust jacket, xvi plus 154 pages
- Published posthumously (Roethke died 1963)
- University of Washington Press did not use a number line in this period; a first-edition copy is identified by the 1965 title-page and copyright date with no later printing statement
- Publisher imprint reads University of Washington Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Theodore Roethke |
| Publisher | University of Washington Press |
| Year | 1965 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Selected prose of Theodore Roethke, edited with an introduction by Ralph J. Mills Jr |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Selected prose of Theodore Roethke, edited with an introduction by Ralph J. Mills Jr. First edition thus, University of Washington Press, cloth in dust jacket, xvi plus 154 pages. Published posthumously (Roethke died 1963). University of Washington Press did not use a number line in this period; a first-edition copy is identified by the 1965 title-page and copyright date with no later printing statement.

## Is this the true first?
US University of Washington Press, 1965; first appearance of this posthumous selected-prose collection.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *On the Poet and His Craft* by Theodore Roethke a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/on-the-poet-and-his-craft
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.