# Is "The Complete Poems" by Elizabeth Bishop a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Complete Poems by Elizabeth Bishop (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1969) is identified by: First edition, first printing, FSG; blue cloth gilt-lettered on spine, printed dust jacket. US FSG; precedes Chatto & Windus UK (1970).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing, FSG; blue cloth gilt-lettered on spine, printed dust jacket
- Copyright page carries the stated first-printing designation per FSG convention
- 216 pages, octavo
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus & Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Elizabeth Bishop |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus & Giroux |
| Year | 1969 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing, FSG; blue cloth gilt-lettered on spine, printed dust jacket |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing, FSG; blue cloth gilt-lettered on spine, printed dust jacket. Copyright page carries the stated first-printing designation per FSG convention. 216 pages, octavo.

## Is this the true first?
US FSG; precedes Chatto & Windus UK (1970). Won the 1970 National Book Award for Poetry. Not to be confused with the 1983 'The Complete Poems 1927-1979.'

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Complete Poems* by Elizabeth Bishop a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-complete-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.