Tim Mattimoe retired from Beaufort County Community College after 30 years of teaching history, a subject he’s passionate about. But Mattimoe’s return next week coincides with his Beaufort County debut of his other lifelong love: poetry.

The community college will host a reading of Mattimoe’s work, “Calligraphy on the Moon’s Face,” a self-published edition of 100 short poems. Mattimoe’s reading will take place at noon on Tuesday in the Learning Resources Center on the upper level of Building 5. The public is invited to attend.

At the age of 18, Mattimoe was first introduced to poetry by a friend — the friend, a Japanese exchange student; the poetry, haiku, a centuries-old form using just three lines and a limited number of syllables to create a visual image.

It’s a form of poetry that requires vision and discipline and can eternally capture a brief moment in time— any moment, in fact, and what inspires Mattimoe’s work is, simply, life.

“Every now and then I will just get this idea for a poem and I sit down and write and if it turns out okay, I’ll keep working on it,” Mattimoe said, adding that one of the poems he’ll be reading is about a hand-blown bottle he saw at glass exhibit.

“I finished the first draft and realized it was sort of a self-portrait,” he said.

Mattimoe comes to the local literary spotlight somewhat reluctantly. Encouraged by a few writer friends, he decided to publish a book of his own poetry as gifts for his family and friends.

“It has turned out, as they say, it takes on a life of its own,” Mattimoe said.

Now his book can be found at Circle City Books in Pittsboro and McIntyre’ s Books in Fearrington Village, as well as Quail Ridge books, the oldest independent bookstore in Raleigh and he’s heading to the reading at BCCC.

“This is the first one I’ve ever done and hopefully it will be the last,” he laughed.

His inspiration comes from some of the poetry greats: William Carlos Williams, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Gary Snyder and Louise Gluck. For the students who took African-American History, Southern Culture or History of Religion classes at BCCC, and for those who worked alongside him for over 21 years, that Mattimoe has such an intimate acquaintance with poetry might come as a surprise.

“I don’t think anyone else on the campus knew that I had been writing poetry all my life, Mattimoe said.

For those who plan to attend the reading, Mattimoe requires little more than attendance and attention — there will not be a quiz.

“I hope they find it an enjoyable experience,” Mattimoe said. “I think of poetry, mine or anybody else’s, really, as a source of entertainment. I don’t have any high falutin’ ideas about expanding one’s consciousness or that sort of thing, so I hope they enjoy themselves.”