# Is "Star" by Michael McClure a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Star by Michael McClure (Grove Press, 1970) is identified by: Grove Press first edition, 1970, collecting the 13 Mad Sonnets, The Surge, and the play The Beard. True first is the 1970 Grove Press edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Grove Press first edition, 1970, collecting the 13 Mad Sonnets, The Surge, and the play The Beard
- Issued in quarter blue cloth over blue boards with a dust jacket; a paperback (Evergreen E-516) was issued simultaneously
- On the cloth issue the first printing carries no statement of a later printing
- Publisher imprint reads Grove Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Michael McClure |
| Publisher | Grove Press |
| Year | 1970 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Grove Press first edition, 1970, collecting the 13 Mad Sonnets, The Surge, and the play… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Grove Press first edition, 1970, collecting the 13 Mad Sonnets, The Surge, and the play The Beard. Issued in quarter blue cloth over blue boards with a dust jacket; a paperback (Evergreen E-516) was issued simultaneously. On the cloth issue the first printing carries no statement of a later printing.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the 1970 Grove Press edition. The clothbound hardcover and the Evergreen paperback were issued simultaneously; the hardcover is generally the preferred collecting form.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Star* by Michael McClure a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/star
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.