# Is "The Mind-Reader" by Richard Wilbur a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Mind-Reader by Richard Wilbur (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1976) is identified by: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich first edition, 'First edition' so stated, first printing; cloth in priced dust jacket; 67 pages. US true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Harcourt Brace Jovanovich first edition, 'First edition' so stated, first printing; cloth in priced dust jacket
- Subtitled 'New Poems.' Later printings (a stated second printing exists) drop or advance the first-edition statement
- Publisher imprint reads Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Richard Wilbur |
| Publisher | Harcourt Brace Jovanovich |
| Year | 1976 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Harcourt Brace Jovanovich first edition, 'First edition' so stated, first printing; cloth in priced dust jacket |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich first edition, 'First edition' so stated, first printing; cloth in priced dust jacket; 67 pages. Subtitled 'New Poems.' Later printings (a stated second printing exists) drop or advance the first-edition statement.

## Is this the true first?
US true first. Wilbur, a two-time Pulitzer winner, is steadily collected; signed copies are reasonably available and desirable.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition; later printings drop the first-edition statement.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Mind-Reader* by Richard Wilbur a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-mind-reader
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.