# Is "For Lizzie and Harriet" by Robert Lowell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of For Lizzie and Harriet by Robert Lowell (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1973) is identified by: US Farrar, Straus & Giroux first edition, 1973, stated 'First Printing, 1973' on the copyright page. US FSG first edition of 1973, preceding or concurrent with the UK Faber & Faber edition, also 1973.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US Farrar, Straus & Giroux first edition, 1973, stated 'First Printing, 1973' on the copyright page
- Bound in teal-blue cloth with the spine lettered in gilt and apple-green endpapers, in a pictorial dust jacket
- The jacket and title-page drawing are by Frank Parker (also credited on some copies as Francis Parker)
- Reworks sonnets from 'Notebook.'
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus & Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Lowell |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus & Giroux |
| Year | 1973 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US Farrar, Straus & Giroux first edition, 1973, stated 'First Printing, 1973' on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
US Farrar, Straus & Giroux first edition, 1973, stated 'First Printing, 1973' on the copyright page. Bound in teal-blue cloth with the spine lettered in gilt and apple-green endpapers, in a pictorial dust jacket. The jacket and title-page drawing are by Frank Parker (also credited on some copies as Francis Parker). Reworks sonnets from 'Notebook.'

## Is this the true first?
US FSG first edition of 1973, preceding or concurrent with the UK Faber & Faber edition, also 1973.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition noted; later printings are identified by the stated printing on the copyright page (e.g., '2nd Printing').

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *For Lizzie and Harriet* by Robert Lowell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/for-lizzie-and-harriet
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.