# Is "The Real Work: Interviews & Talks 1964-1979" by Gary Snyder a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Real Work: Interviews & Talks 1964-1979 by Gary Snyder (New Directions, 1980) is identified by: New Directions first edition, New York 1980, edited with an introduction by William Scott McLean. True first is the 1980 New Directions edition; the clothbound issue, published simultaneously with the paperbook, is the collected first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- New Directions first edition, New York 1980, edited with an introduction by William Scott McLean
- Issued simultaneously clothbound (green cloth, gilt-stamped spine, photo-illustrated dust jacket) and as New Directions Paperbook 499
- The clothbound copy is the collected first
- Publisher imprint reads New Directions
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Gary Snyder |
| Publisher | New Directions |
| Year | 1980 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | New Directions first edition, New York 1980, edited with an introduction by William Scott… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
New Directions first edition, New York 1980, edited with an introduction by William Scott McLean. Issued simultaneously clothbound (green cloth, gilt-stamped spine, photo-illustrated dust jacket) and as New Directions Paperbook 499. The clothbound copy is the collected first.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the 1980 New Directions edition; the clothbound issue, published simultaneously with the paperbook, is the collected first.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Real Work: Interviews & Talks 1964-1979* by Gary Snyder a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-real-work-interviews-talks-1964-1979
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.