TOME OF THE UNKNOWN POET

About the Book

Tome (tôm) n. Fr< L tomos, 1 [Obs.] any volume of a work of several volumes 2 a book, esp., a large, scholarly or ponderous one. The Tome of the Unknown Poet is a generous introduction of the imaginative, witty, and contemporary writing of the author. It has been in the making for a period of more than 50 years. Its content has emerged from several sources and directions as varied as the subjects they portray. Some have evolved from personal experiences of the author, others from the antics and sometimes frustrations of others as viewed by the author. There was no attempt during its evolution at a methodical recording and preservation of material but a “willy-nilly” writing on whatever was at hand (a limerick was rescued from the cardboard center of a roll of toilet tissue). There are, by and large, echoes and refl ections throughout this writing of incidents and events that, at sometime, took place in the life of the author. Although there has been an attempt to categorize and catalog the material to some degree, it still is, overall, a literary “slice of life”.

About the Author

Alfred Mi t c h e l l is a native of Wilmington, North Carolina. At the age of eighty-three, he has compiled an extensive repertoire of poems, epigrams, and other literary expressions. Some have originated from his own true life experiences while most have been inspired by the antics of others. Soon after graduating fi rst in his class from Williston Industrial High School in 1943, he became the fi rst black state-licensed building contractor in New Hanover County, North Carolina. He enrolled for a short period at UNC Wilmington at the age of seventy-five. He is a minister and has most recently written a weekly column called Little Sermons for a local newspaper.