# Is "The Romantic Dogs" by Roberto Bolaño a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Romantic Dogs by Roberto Bolaño (New Directions, 2008) is identified by: New Directions, 2008, first English-language edition (published November 2008); a softcover original — issued only as a New Directions paperback (ISBN 9780811218016), with no simultaneous hardcover or clothbound state. First English-language appearance of the poetry collection Los perros románticos (Spanish 1994, expanded 2000); Bolaño's first book of poetry in English.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- New Directions, 2008, first English-language edition (published November 2008); a softcover original — issued only as a New Directions paperback (ISBN 9780811218016), with no simultaneous hardcover or clothbound state
- Bilingual, with the Spanish text on the left-hand page and Laura Healy's English translation en face; gathers 43 poems written between roughly 1980 and 1998
- A first printing carries the New Directions imprint with no later-printing markings
- Publisher imprint reads New Directions
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Roberto Bolaño |
| Publisher | New Directions |
| Year | 2008 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | New Directions, 2008, first English-language edition (published November 2008); a softcover original — issued only as a New Directions… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
New Directions, 2008, first English-language edition (published November 2008); a softcover original — issued only as a New Directions paperback (ISBN 9780811218016), with no simultaneous hardcover or clothbound state. Bilingual, with the Spanish text on the left-hand page and Laura Healy's English translation en face; gathers 43 poems written between roughly 1980 and 1998. A first printing carries the New Directions imprint with no later-printing markings.

## Is this the true first?
First English-language appearance of the poetry collection Los perros románticos (Spanish 1994, expanded 2000); Bolaño's first book of poetry in English. Because the New Directions first was a paperback original, there is no hardcover first-issue point to seek.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition; distinguish the 2008 first paperback from later New Directions reprintings of the same ISBN by the absence of added printing markings.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Romantic Dogs* by Roberto Bolaño a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-romantic-dogs
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.