# Is "The Book of Nightmares" by Galway Kinnell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Book of Nightmares by Galway Kinnell (Houghton Mifflin, 1971) is identified by: First printing in blind-stamped black cloth with red spine titling; dust jacket with Howard Zimmon black-and-white illustrations printed in red, unclipped with original price. The US Houghton Mifflin 1971 edition is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing in blind-stamped black cloth with red spine titling; dust jacket with Howard Zimmon black-and-white illustrations printed in red, unclipped with original price
- Copyright page states the first printing with no later-printing line
- Cloth ISBN 0395120977 (a simultaneous wrappers issue, ISBN 0395120985, also exists; the cloth is the collector's first)
- Publisher imprint reads Houghton Mifflin
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Galway Kinnell |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
| Year | 1971 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | First printing in blind-stamped black cloth with red spine titling; dust jacket with Howard Zimmon black-and-white illustrations printed in… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing in blind-stamped black cloth with red spine titling; dust jacket with Howard Zimmon black-and-white illustrations printed in red, unclipped with original price. Copyright page states the first printing with no later-printing line. Cloth ISBN 0395120977 (a simultaneous wrappers issue, ISBN 0395120985, also exists; the cloth is the collector's first).

## Is this the true first?
The US Houghton Mifflin 1971 edition is the true first. A UK Bodley Head edition with slightly revised text followed, so the US precedes. Signed copies exist. The work is a single long poem in ten parts.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Distinguish from the UK Bodley Head issue and from the simultaneous softcover, and from later printings retaining the same jacket; check the copyright page for the printing statement.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Book of Nightmares* by Galway Kinnell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-book-of-nightmares
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.