2022 LSU Gumbo - Book - Page 157
For 70 years, Wyatt Houston Day – who, modestly,
considers himself “top of the heap” for his craft – has been
collecting books. Before the new year, he sold his beloved
collection of African American poetry to Louisiana State
University.
The Day collection, now available for public viewing at
the Hill Memorial Library Special Collections, is one of the
most important collections of African American poetry in
the country, appraised at $612,940.
“Building this collection was like a challenge with a huge
pot of gold at the end,” Day said. “I owed it to the collection
to find it a good home.”
The breadth of the materials is extensive. Spanning
the early 18th century, the Harlem Renaissance, postRenaissance poetry and the 1960s and 1970s Black Arts
movement, the collection features first editions and original
manuscripts from hundreds of poets, including Gwendolyn
Brooks, Langston Hughes and Sonia Sanchez.
John Miles, the curator of books at LSU Special
Collections, said he initially reached out to Day searching
for one particular book. But when one conversation led to
another, and the two literature-enthusiasts formed a bond,
Miles was surprised when Day offered him and LSU an
entire collection.
Several other private buyers and institutions, including
Duke University, showed interest in the collection, but Day
“took a liking” toward Miles.
“John showed such interest and enthusiasm, and I knew
the collection would be in good hands with him,” Day said.
LSU Library paid $380,000 for the collection, and Day
gifted the rest.
Stanley Wilder, dean of LSU Libraries, said that the
purchase was not a difficult decision. It is part of LSU
Library’s effort to acquire collections that reflect underrepresented communities.
“This was a special opportunity that presented itself,”
Wilder said. “It’s given us a basis, and we can now continue
building on this collection systematically.”
Day, now 81 years old, recalls collecting his first book
when he was only nine. Raised on the lower east side of
Manhattan, New York, he spent his younger years “book
hunting” with his father at local book stores on and around
8th Street. He said the search is what he still loves the most
about book collecting.
“A lot of the time, a great Black writer who worked in
isolation often died in isolation,” Day said. “Those poets
could have made some of the best work but had no one to
read it. I wanted to read it.”
Day keeps his book collections in his home in the small,
artistic town of Nyack, New York, where he and his wife
moved to 27 years ago. When I asked Day why he decided
to sell this remarkable collection, he said it was partially
financial reasons, but more so to find them a good home as
he got older.
The collection includes over 800 books by hundreds
of authors, some prestigious and others more obscure.
Narcissa Haskins, African American Studies librarian, was
amazed, but not surprised by the diversity of poets that
made up the collection.
“There was a lot of self-promotion during the Black
Arts Movement; so there will be diversity and a lot of
collaboration happening,” Haskins said. “It’s pretty typical to
see diverse materials in collections such as this.”
Day confirms that this range was no fluke and is a
reflection of African American poetry being inextricably
linked to the experiences of Black people. Because of this,
he said, the collection includes both highly sought-after
materials and rare books with “no words on the spine.”
“Black poets were a part of what was going on politically
and socially, not isolated in some special room in the house.
Everything and everyone was connected.” Day said. “This
collection is a voice of the community. It’s a lot of voices that
came together as one voice.”
Miles hopes that current and prospective LSU poets and
creative writers will find inspiration in these voices of the
past. He emphasizes the importance of archival collections
like this to narrate the experiences of enslaved people,
specifically in their own voices.
Kalvin Marquis-Morris, dual communication studies and
English senior, said that his favorite part of the collection
was the original manuscript of the music cues for Langston
Hughes’ 12-part poem, “Ask Your Mama,” inscribed by
Hughes to poet Amiri Baraka.
Like Miles, he values this collection as more than just a
symbolic win for diversity.
“This a crucial step toward the safety of Black students on
campus and making them feel wanted, not just pulling them
to the school for diversity numbers or to claim some DEI
victory,” Marquis-Morris said. “The collection gives black
students an opportunity to spark so much black innovation,
genius, creativity and radicality.”
According to Marcela Reyes Ayalas, the LSU Library
director of communications, LSU Library is entering
the second phase of acquiring this new collection. Phase
one was the initial announcement. Next, Ayalas wants to
integrate the works into the curriculum and the community
by hosting workshops, speaker series and group readings.
“We are planning to have a poetry reading event walkthrough of the collection,” Haskins said. “It’s not going to be
modern poetry slam or spoken word. It’s going to be a bit
more traditional.”
Miles emphasizes his commitment to expanding this
historical collection while embracing the contemporary
poetry scene. Even though poetry is not what it was during
the Harlem Renaissance, it still responds to similar political
implications.
He also sees this collection as a prospective pull factor
for potential LSU graduate students and professors.
“One thing I want, that I think is a possibility, is that this
collection will attract students, particularly creative writing
MFA students, but also professors,” Miles said. “This is us
signaling a commitment to the university.”
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