# Is "Winter Hours" by Mary Oliver a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Winter Hours by Mary Oliver (Houghton Mifflin, 1999) is identified by: Full title Winter Hours: Prose, Prose Poems, and Poems. US Houghton Mifflin is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Full title Winter Hours: Prose, Prose Poems, and Poems
- First edition, Houghton Mifflin, octavo in half-cloth binding with dust jacket
- First printing follows the publisher's number-line convention
- A first paperback edition also exists and should not be mistaken for the hardcover first
- Publisher imprint reads Houghton Mifflin
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Mary Oliver |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
| Year | 1999 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Full title Winter Hours: Prose, Prose Poems, and Poems |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Full title Winter Hours: Prose, Prose Poems, and Poems. First edition, Houghton Mifflin, octavo in half-cloth binding with dust jacket. First printing follows the publisher's number-line convention. A first paperback edition also exists and should not be mistaken for the hardcover first.

## 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 *Winter Hours* by Mary Oliver a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/winter-hours
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.