# Is "The Avenue Bearing the Initial of Christ into the New World: Poems 1946-1964" by Galway Kinnell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Avenue Bearing the Initial of Christ into the New World: Poems 1946-1964 by Galway Kinnell (Houghton Mifflin, 1974) is identified by: First edition, Houghton Mifflin, 1974, cloth with dust jacket. US Houghton Mifflin, 1974; first-thus retrospective collection.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, Houghton Mifflin, 1974, cloth with dust jacket
- A retrospective gathering early work; first appearance in this form
- Note that the subtitle appears in variant forms ('Poems 1946-1964' and 'Poems 1953-1964') across printings
- Publisher imprint reads Houghton Mifflin
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Galway Kinnell |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
| Year | 1974 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, Houghton Mifflin, 1974, cloth with dust jacket |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, Houghton Mifflin, 1974, cloth with dust jacket. A retrospective gathering early work; first appearance in this form. Note that the subtitle appears in variant forms ('Poems 1946-1964' and 'Poems 1953-1964') across printings.

## Is this the true first?
US Houghton Mifflin, 1974; first-thus retrospective collection.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Avenue Bearing the Initial of Christ into the New World: Poems 1946-1964* by Galway Kinnell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-avenue-bearing-the-initial-of-christ-into-the-new-world
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.