# Is "Practical Gods" by Carl Dennis a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Practical Gods by Carl Dennis (Penguin, 2001) is identified by: Winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. US Penguin Poets edition (2001) is the true first, issued as a paperback original with no preceding hardback.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
- The first edition was published by Penguin in the Penguin Poets series in 2001 as a trade-paperback original; there was no preceding hardcover
- First printings carry the first-edition statement with an unadvanced number line
- Publisher imprint reads Penguin
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Carl Dennis |
| Publisher | Penguin |
| Year | 2001 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. The first edition was published by Penguin in the Penguin Poets series in 2001 as a trade-paperback original; there was no preceding hardcover. First printings carry the first-edition statement with an unadvanced number line.

## Is this the true first?
US Penguin Poets edition (2001) is the true first, issued as a paperback original with no preceding hardback.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue; later printings advance the number line.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Practical Gods* by Carl Dennis a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/practical-gods
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.