# Is "Permit Me Voyage" by James Agee a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Permit Me Voyage by James Agee (Yale University Press, 1934) is identified by: True first is New Haven: Yale University Press, 1934, Agee's first book, issued as Volume 33 of the Yale Series of Younger Poets (series edited by Stephen Vincent Benet) with a foreword by Archibald MacLeish; slim octavo, 59 pages, Mullaly B11. US-only true first — Yale University Press, New Haven, 1934.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is New Haven: Yale University Press, 1934, Agee's first book, issued as Volume 33 of the Yale Series of Younger Poets (series edited by Stephen Vincent Benet) with a foreword by Archibald MacLeish; slim octavo, 59 pages, Mullaly B11
- Predominantly described as GREEN cloth lettered in dark green at the spine (confirmed by multiple dealers; one describes gray boards lettered in black, a minority/variant or faded description), issued in a printed green priced dust jacket with the price present at the flap
- Identified as first by the 1934 title-page date, the Yale Series volume-33 statement, and the absence of any later-printing indication; subsequent printings of this poetry title are not commonly encountered
- Publisher imprint reads Yale University Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | James Agee |
| Publisher | Yale University Press |
| Year | 1934 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is New Haven: Yale University Press, 1934, Agee's first book, issued as Volume 33 of the Yale Series of Younger Poets (series… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
True first is New Haven: Yale University Press, 1934, Agee's first book, issued as Volume 33 of the Yale Series of Younger Poets (series edited by Stephen Vincent Benet) with a foreword by Archibald MacLeish; slim octavo, 59 pages, Mullaly B11. Predominantly described as GREEN cloth lettered in dark green at the spine (confirmed by multiple dealers; one describes gray boards lettered in black, a minority/variant or faded description), issued in a printed green priced dust jacket with the price present at the flap. Identified as first by the 1934 title-page date, the Yale Series volume-33 statement, and the absence of any later-printing indication; subsequent printings of this poetry title are not commonly encountered.

## Is this the true first?
US-only true first — Yale University Press, New Haven, 1934. There is no competing UK or original-language edition; the census 'US-only Yale 1934 first' claim is correct.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. The 1934 Yale volume is the sole first printing; beware 'first thus' reprints, later Agee collections, and anthology appearances that reprint the poems.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Permit Me Voyage* by James Agee a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/permit-me-voyage
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.