How to identify a first printing
- Late-20th-century convention: copyright page states 'First Edition' and frequently carries 'Sun & Moon Classics' series number; a descending number line may be present on later titles.
- First has no later-printing notice; series number fixes the title in the Classics line.
- Successor Green Integer titles bear that imprint and a separate numbered-series scheme.
Notable points & cautions
- Founded by Douglas Messerli (with Howard N. Fox) in 1976 as a magazine, becoming Sun & Moon Press in the 1980s (College Park, MD / Los Angeles); avant-garde/Language poetry and translation.
- Published Language poets (Bernstein, Hejinian's My Life, Coolidge) and modernist reprints; the numbered 'Sun & Moon Classics' series is the key bibliographic spine.
- After Sun & Moon wound down (~late 1990s), Messerli founded Green Integer (1999) — do not conflate the two imprints; a Green Integer copy is not a Sun & Moon first.
Imprints
First editions also appear under: Sun & Moon Classics, Green Integer (successor press). Each generally follows the house convention above.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my Sun & Moon Press book is a first edition?
Check the copyright page. Late-20th-century convention: copyright page states 'First Edition' and frequently carries 'Sun & Moon Classics' series number; a descending number line may be present on later titles. First has no later-printing notice; series number fixes the title in the Classics line.
Does Sun & Moon Press use a number line?
First has no later-printing notice; series number fixes the title in the Classics line.
Is a book-club edition a Sun & Moon Press first edition?
No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. Founded by Douglas Messerli (with Howard N. Fox) in 1976 as a magazine, becoming Sun & Moon Press in the 1980s (College Park, MD / Los Angeles); avant-garde/Language poetry and translation.
What era does this cover?
This covers Sun & Moon Press (1980s–late 1990s (Green Integer 1999–)). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.