# Is "Turtle Island" by Gary Snyder a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Turtle Island by Gary Snyder (New Directions, 1974) is identified by: New Directions first edition, 1974, first printing so stated; issued simultaneously in cloth (chartreuse/green cloth boards, stamped spine) and as a New Directions Paperbook. US true first and Pulitzer winner.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- New Directions first edition, 1974, first printing so stated; issued simultaneously in cloth (chartreuse/green cloth boards, stamped spine) and as a New Directions Paperbook
- Roughly 2,000 hardcover copies
- Won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry; copies predating the win lack any Pulitzer sticker
- The cloth hardcover in dust jacket is the collector's first
- Publisher imprint reads New Directions
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Gary Snyder |
| Publisher | New Directions |
| Year | 1974 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | New Directions first edition, 1974, first printing so stated; issued simultaneously in cloth (chartreuse/green cloth boards, stamped spine)… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
New Directions first edition, 1974, first printing so stated; issued simultaneously in cloth (chartreuse/green cloth boards, stamped spine) and as a New Directions Paperbook. Roughly 2,000 hardcover copies. Won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry; copies predating the win lack any Pulitzer sticker. The cloth hardcover in dust jacket is the collector's first.

## Is this the true first?
US true first and Pulitzer winner. Distinguish the scarcer cloth hardcover from the simultaneously issued, far more common paperbook.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. The crux is the cloth hardcover first vs the simultaneous New Directions Paperbook.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Turtle Island* by Gary Snyder a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/turtle-island
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.