# Is "The Sacred Hoop signed first" by Paula Gunn Allen a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Sacred Hoop signed first by Paula Gunn Allen (Beacon Press, 1986) is identified by: Beacon Press, Boston, 1986 first edition of The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions, the canonical work of Native feminist criticism. The Beacon Press hardcover of 1986 is the true first edition and precedes the Beacon paperback reissues, including the later edition issued with a new preface (ISBN 0-8070-4617-3).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Beacon Press, Boston, 1986 first edition of The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions, the canonical work of Native feminist criticism
- Octavo, collating xii and 311 pages, issued in cloth with a pictorial dust jacket; the jacket should retain its printed price
- The first printing carries the Beacon Press imprint with no later-printing statement on the copyright page (ISBN 0-8070-4600-0)
- A first signed by Paula Gunn Allen typically bears her signature to the title page
- Publisher imprint reads Beacon Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Paula Gunn Allen |
| Publisher | Beacon Press |
| Year | 1986 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Beacon Press, Boston, 1986 first edition of The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions, the canonical work of… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Beacon Press, Boston, 1986 first edition of The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions, the canonical work of Native feminist criticism. Octavo, collating xii and 311 pages, issued in cloth with a pictorial dust jacket; the jacket should retain its printed price. The first printing carries the Beacon Press imprint with no later-printing statement on the copyright page (ISBN 0-8070-4600-0). A first signed by Paula Gunn Allen typically bears her signature to the title page.

## Is this the true first?
The Beacon Press hardcover of 1986 is the true first edition and precedes the Beacon paperback reissues, including the later edition issued with a new preface (ISBN 0-8070-4617-3).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Beacon paperback printings and the new-preface reissue reprint the text but are not the 1986 first edition. Use the imprint, pagination, and lack of any later-printing statement to confirm the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Sacred Hoop signed first* by Paula Gunn Allen a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-sacred-hoop-signed-first
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.