# Is "Sight Lines signed first" by Arthur Sze a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Sight Lines signed first by Arthur Sze (Copper Canyon Press, 2019) is identified by: US Copper Canyon Press first edition, 2019 (ISBN 9781556595592), issued as a paperback original — Sze's tenth collection and winner of the 2019 National Book Award for Poetry. The Copper Canyon Press 2019 paperback original is the true first edition; there is no preceding hardcover trade issue.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US Copper Canyon Press first edition, 2019 (ISBN 9781556595592), issued as a paperback original — Sze's tenth collection and winner of the 2019 National Book Award for Poetry
- A first edition is the Copper Canyon 2019 printing; on the first printing the copyright page carries the printing key without a later-impression statement
- Roughly 70 pages, perfect-bound in printed wrappers
- A signed first is simply this first printing autographed by Arthur Sze
- Publisher imprint reads Copper Canyon Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Arthur Sze |
| Publisher | Copper Canyon Press |
| Year | 2019 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US Copper Canyon Press first edition, 2019 (ISBN 9781556595592), issued as a paperback original — Sze's tenth collection and winner of the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
US Copper Canyon Press first edition, 2019 (ISBN 9781556595592), issued as a paperback original — Sze's tenth collection and winner of the 2019 National Book Award for Poetry. A first edition is the Copper Canyon 2019 printing; on the first printing the copyright page carries the printing key without a later-impression statement. Roughly 70 pages, perfect-bound in printed wrappers. A signed first is simply this first printing autographed by Arthur Sze.

## Is this the true first?
The Copper Canyon Press 2019 paperback original is the true first edition; there is no preceding hardcover trade issue. The National Book Award announcement post-dates first publication, so award-citation banding on the cover indicates a later printing, not the first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
As a Copper Canyon poetry paperback original, there is no book-club edition; the identifying first is the 2019 first printing in wrappers. Later printings reprint the same text and may add a National Book Award seal or 'winner' banding to the cover — a first printing predates that award notice.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Sight Lines signed first* by Arthur Sze a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/sight-lines-signed-first
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.