# Is "West Wind" by Mary Oliver a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of West Wind by Mary Oliver (Houghton Mifflin, 1997) is identified by: Full title West Wind: Poems and Prose Poems. US Houghton Mifflin is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Full title West Wind: Poems and Prose Poems
- First edition, Houghton Mifflin, blue cloth with gilt spine title, blue endpapers, dust jacket
- First printing follows the publisher's number-line convention
- Publisher imprint reads Houghton Mifflin
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Mary Oliver |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
| Year | 1997 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Full title West Wind: Poems and Prose Poems |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Full title West Wind: Poems and Prose Poems. First edition, Houghton Mifflin, blue cloth with gilt spine title, blue endpapers, dust jacket. First printing follows the publisher's number-line convention.

## Is this the true first?
US Houghton Mifflin is the true first.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *West Wind* by Mary Oliver a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/west-wind
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.