# Is "Heaven and Other Poems" by Jack Kerouac a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Heaven and Other Poems by Jack Kerouac (Grey Fox Press, 1977) is identified by: First edition, published posthumously in printed silver wrappers by Grey Fox Press, Bolinas, California, 1977; 70 pages, edited by Donald Allen (editor of Grove Press's Evergreen Review and The New American Poetry). The true first is the 1977 Grey Fox Press original in printed silver wrappers, distributed by Bookpeople; distinguished by the absence of any later-printing statement.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, published posthumously in printed silver wrappers by Grey Fox Press, Bolinas, California, 1977
- 70 pages, edited by Donald Allen (editor of Grove Press's Evergreen Review and The New American Poetry)
- ISBN 0-912516-31-3
- Gathers previously unpublished poems, letters to Allen, a comic strip drawn for the Cassady children, and Kerouac's self-penned poetic autobiography
- No statement of later printing on the copyright page
- Publisher imprint reads Grey Fox Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jack Kerouac |
| Publisher | Grey Fox Press |
| Year | 1977 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, published posthumously in printed silver wrappers by Grey Fox Press, Bolinas, California, 1977 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, published posthumously in printed silver wrappers by Grey Fox Press, Bolinas, California, 1977; 70 pages, edited by Donald Allen (editor of Grove Press's Evergreen Review and The New American Poetry). ISBN 0-912516-31-3. Gathers previously unpublished poems, letters to Allen, a comic strip drawn for the Cassady children, and Kerouac's self-penned poetic autobiography. No statement of later printing on the copyright page.

## Is this the true first?
The true first is the 1977 Grey Fox Press original in printed silver wrappers, distributed by Bookpeople; distinguished by the absence of any later-printing statement.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition; later Grey Fox reprintings using the same ISBN are distinguished by a printing statement on the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Heaven and Other Poems* by Jack Kerouac a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/heaven-and-other-poems
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.