# Is "This Kind of Bird Flies Backward" by Diane di Prima a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of This Kind of Bird Flies Backward by Diane di Prima (Totem Press, 1958) is identified by: Di Prima's first book. True first is the 1958 Totem Press wrappered original.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Di Prima's first book
- Totem Press (New York), 1958, run by LeRoi Jones
- Issued in wire-stitched printed wrappers with an introduction by Lawrence Ferlinghetti and drawings by Bret Rohmer
- First printing carries no later-printing statement
- Publisher imprint reads Totem Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Diane di Prima |
| Publisher | Totem Press |
| Year | 1958 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Di Prima's first book |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Di Prima's first book. Totem Press (New York), 1958, run by LeRoi Jones. Issued in wire-stitched printed wrappers with an introduction by Lawrence Ferlinghetti and drawings by Bret Rohmer. First printing carries no later-printing statement.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the 1958 Totem Press wrappered original. A later, more common Paper Book Gallery reprint appeared in 1963.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *This Kind of Bird Flies Backward* by Diane di Prima a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/this-kind-of-bird-flies-backward
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.