# Is "Selected Poems 1923–1967" by Jorge Luis Borges a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Selected Poems 1923–1967 by Jorge Luis Borges (Delacorte Press / Seymour Lawrence, 1972) is identified by: First American edition, a bilingual (Spanish/English) text, Delacorte Press – A Seymour Lawrence Book, 1972. First major English-language selected poems of Borges; a first-thus compilation.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First American edition, a bilingual (Spanish/English) text, Delacorte Press – A Seymour Lawrence Book, 1972
- Edited, with an introduction and notes, by Norman Thomas di Giovanni
- English translations by several hands including W. S. Merwin, John Updike, and Richard Wilbur
- Publisher imprint reads Delacorte Press / Seymour Lawrence
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jorge Luis Borges |
| Publisher | Delacorte Press / Seymour Lawrence |
| Year | 1972 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First American edition, a bilingual (Spanish/English) text, Delacorte Press – A Seymour… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First American edition, a bilingual (Spanish/English) text, Delacorte Press – A Seymour Lawrence Book, 1972. Edited, with an introduction and notes, by Norman Thomas di Giovanni; English translations by several hands including W. S. Merwin, John Updike, and Richard Wilbur.

## Is this the true first?
First major English-language selected poems of Borges; a first-thus compilation. Published under a 1971 copyright with the trade first edition appearing in early 1972.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No notable book-club edition; confirm the Delacorte/Seymour Lawrence trade first by the imprint and first-printing state.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Selected Poems 1923–1967* by Jorge Luis Borges a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/selected-poems-1923-1967
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.