Two cousins had been looking for their grandpa’s poetry for 50 years. They found it hundreds of miles from home at the Hill Memorial Library at LSU. 

The Wyatt Houston Day Collection of Poetry by African Americans is a collection of works from the 18th century, the Harlem Renaissance and the 21st century that LSU purchased in 2022. 

Harry Wilson Patterson’s book of poetry “Gems of the Soul,” and poem, “Sleep On!” makes him one of 800 poets in the collection. His granddaughters, both from Washington D.C., Renee Anderson and Sharon Young, had been looking for his work for half a century. 

Anderson is a retired educator and runs her own cultural arts business educating people on African culture through dance, music and performance. 

Young is working on her autobiography “Legends at Grandma’s House.” Her autobiography is where the journey of finding their grandfather’s work began. 

The two lived with their grandfather as children, who they affectionately called “Pop Pop.” Patterson was a minister and Anderson said that she remembers him singing each Sunday. 

“He always had a sense of humor,” Young said. “He made us laugh a lot.” 

In October, Young called the Library of Congress to find out more information about her grandfather for her autobiography. At the time, she knew of his book, “Gems of the Soul,” but not what it contained. 

From the Library of Congress, the search continued to Howard University and then to LSU. 

“The miracle behind this is had we called the library three weeks before the early part of December, we would have missed my grandfather because it was just cataloged,” Young said. 

The book “Gems of the Soul,” was more than what they ever imagined. Beyond poetry, it contained Patterson’s autobiography, a dedication to women of color, a short story and a sermon that he said he hoped someone would read during Black History Week, which is now Black History Month. 

“Sleep On!” is a poem that honors the lives lost during Pearl Harbor during World War II. 

“We really thought we were looking for just a book of poems and had no idea that such knowledge, wisdom, history and substance would be in a book so small,” Anderson said. 

LSU Libraries’ Curator of Books John David Miles said the story of Young and Anderson finding their grandfather is the main goal of their collections. 

“Any time we can have that organic connection between the material and the student and our patrons, that’s what we’re looking for,” he said. 

Miles said the Wyatt Houston Day collection now calls LSU home because Day wanted it at a public university where the materials could be used. In the short time that the collection has been at Hill Memorial Library, LSU has hosted a number of events around it so it garners the attention of the students. 

“To be able to see the book and touch the book, I’m not going to be responsible for what may happen when that happens,” Anderson said. 

Young and Anderson both said young people today should be inspired by Patterson’s story because they have more opportunities than their grandfather did 85 years ago. 

They would have never thought that his poetry would have traveled thousands of miles from Washington, D.C., to New York to Louisiana. 

“It’s just a blessing all by itself, it was supposed to happen,” Young said.