# Is "Short Poems" by John Berryman a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Short Poems by John Berryman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1967) is identified by: First-thus gathering that collects the complete text of The Dispossessed, His Thought Made Pockets & the Plane Buckt, and Formal Elegy (on the death of JFK). US Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1967, is the first appearance of this gathered collection.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First-thus gathering that collects the complete text of The Dispossessed, His Thought Made Pockets & the Plane Buckt, and Formal Elegy (on the death of JFK)
- First edition, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1967, bound in paper-covered boards with a cloth spine, in dust jacket
- The true first is identified by the stated first printing on the copyright page; do not rely on any single exact wording, as FSG first-printing statements of this period vary
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus & Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John Berryman |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus & Giroux |
| Year | 1967 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First-thus gathering that collects the complete text of The Dispossessed, His Thought… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First-thus gathering that collects the complete text of The Dispossessed, His Thought Made Pockets & the Plane Buckt, and Formal Elegy (on the death of JFK). First edition, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1967, bound in paper-covered boards with a cloth spine, in dust jacket. The true first is identified by the stated first printing on the copyright page; do not rely on any single exact wording, as FSG first-printing statements of this period vary.

## Is this the true first?
US Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1967, is the first appearance of this gathered collection.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Short Poems* by John Berryman a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/short-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 2026-07-03.