# Is "The Complete Poems" by Elizabeth Bishop a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Complete Poems by Elizabeth Bishop (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1969) is identified by: First edition, first printing, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1969 (MacMahon A9), an issue of about 5,500 copies. US FSG (1969) precedes the Chatto & Windus UK edition (1970).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1969 (MacMahon A9), an issue of about 5,500 copies
- Bound in blue cloth with gilt lettering on the spine, octavo, 216 pages, in a printed dust jacket designed by Roxanne Cumming that should retain its price on the flap
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus & Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Elizabeth Bishop |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus & Giroux |
| Year | 1969 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1969 (MacMahon A9), an issue of about 5,500 copies |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1969 (MacMahon A9), an issue of about 5,500 copies. Bound in blue cloth with gilt lettering on the spine, octavo, 216 pages, in a printed dust jacket designed by Roxanne Cumming that should retain its price on the flap.

## Is this the true first?
US FSG (1969) precedes the Chatto & Windus UK edition (1970). Won the 1970 National Book Award for Poetry. Not to be confused with the later 1983 'The Complete Poems 1927-1979,' which is a separate, expanded book.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition; the first printing is identified by the FSG first-edition designation, the blue cloth, and the Roxanne Cumming jacket. Later FSG printings and the 1983 expanded collection follow.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Complete Poems* by Elizabeth Bishop a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-complete-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.