# Is "Partial Accounts: New and Selected Poems" by William Meredith a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Partial Accounts: New and Selected Poems by William Meredith (Alfred A. Knopf, 1987) is identified by: Won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. US Knopf (1987) is the true first edition; the clothbound issue is the collector's first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
- First printing: Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1987, with 'FIRST EDITION' stated on the copyright page per Knopf's house practice (the Borzoi colophon appears but is present on all Knopf printings, so it is not by itself a first-printing point)
- Issued simultaneously in cloth with dust jacket and in paper wrappers; the clothbound issue is the collector's first
- Publisher imprint reads Alfred A. Knopf
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William Meredith |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
| Year | 1987 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. First printing: Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1987, with 'FIRST EDITION' stated on the copyright page per Knopf's house practice (the Borzoi colophon appears but is present on all Knopf printings, so it is not by itself a first-printing point). Issued simultaneously in cloth with dust jacket and in paper wrappers; the clothbound issue is the collector's first.

## Is this the true first?
US Knopf (1987) is the true first edition; the clothbound issue is the collector's first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition. The 'FIRST EDITION' statement is dropped on later printings.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Partial Accounts: New and Selected Poems* by William Meredith a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/partial-accounts-new-and-selected-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.