# Is "Flower Herding on Mount Monadnock" by Galway Kinnell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Flower Herding on Mount Monadnock by Galway Kinnell (Houghton Mifflin, 1964) is identified by: First edition, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1964, the poet's second collection. US Houghton Mifflin (1964) is the true first; no prior edition, and this collection followed the poet's first book.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1964, the poet's second collection
- The first printing is identified by the absence of any later-printing statement on the copyright page, per Houghton Mifflin convention of the period
- Bound in brown patterned paper over boards with white lettering to the front cover and an off-white cloth spine stamped in brown; octavo of vi, 58 pages
- Issued in a dust jacket that should carry the original printed price at the top of the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads Houghton Mifflin
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Galway Kinnell |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
| Year | 1964 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1964, the poet's second collection |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1964, the poet's second collection. The first printing is identified by the absence of any later-printing statement on the copyright page, per Houghton Mifflin convention of the period. Bound in brown patterned paper over boards with white lettering to the front cover and an off-white cloth spine stamped in brown; octavo of vi, 58 pages. Issued in a dust jacket that should carry the original printed price at the top of the front flap.

## Is this the true first?
US Houghton Mifflin (1964) is the true first; no prior edition, and this collection followed the poet's first book.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Flower Herding on Mount Monadnock* by Galway Kinnell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/flower-herding-on-mount-monadnock
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.