# Is "Poems: Selected and New, 1950-1974" by Adrienne Rich a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Poems: Selected and New, 1950-1974 by Adrienne Rich (W.W. Norton, 1975) is identified by: Norton, black cloth boards with gilt-stamped spine, in dust jacket. US W.W.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, W.W. Norton, black cloth boards with gilt-stamped spine, in dust jacket
- First printing follows Norton practice, with no later-printing statement on the copyright page
- A retrospective gathering drawn from Rich's seven earlier books plus previously uncollected poems, so this is the first-thus for the selected arrangement
- Publisher imprint reads W.W. Norton
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Adrienne Rich |
| Publisher | W.W. Norton |
| Year | 1975 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, W.W. Norton, black cloth boards with gilt-stamped spine, in dust jacket |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, W.W. Norton, black cloth boards with gilt-stamped spine, in dust jacket. First printing follows Norton practice, with no later-printing statement on the copyright page. A retrospective gathering drawn from Rich's seven earlier books plus previously uncollected poems, so this is the first-thus for the selected arrangement.

## Is this the true first?
US W.W. Norton is the true first edition; a first-thus selected/collected volume rather than an all-new book.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Poems: Selected and New, 1950-1974* by Adrienne Rich a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/poems-selected-and-new-1950-1974
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.