Mattimoe Returns To BCCC For Poetry Reading | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Former Lead Instructor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Beaufort County Community College Tim Mattimoe returns to campus to read from his new book of poetry, Calligraphy on the Moon's Face.

    The reading will be at noon, Tuesday, Oct. 7, in the Learning Resources Center in the upper level of Building 5.

    "BCCC is delighted to welcome Tim Mattimoe back to campus for this event," said Penny Sermons, BCCC director of Learning Resources and Distance Learning. "I hope the public and members of the campus community will enjoy seeing Tim and listening to these poems."

    Toledo, Ohio, native Mattimoe was a full-time member of the BCCC faculty for over 21 years before he retired in 2012. Mattimoe and his wife, Karen, live in Pittsboro.

    Published earlier this year, the poems were written after his retirement and are inspired by his surroundings in Chatham County. They have their roots in the haiku of Japanese masters and the American writers they influenced.

    "I have been writing poetry most of my life," Mattimoe said. "I started in high school and have worked steadily at it for nearly 60 years.

    "Last winter, at the urging of some writer friends, I decided to publish a book as a gift for my family and a few friends," he said. "Since then, the project has taken on a life of its own."

    Mattimoe said he wrote his first haiku when he was 18 and that he enjoys working in the form "because of the discipline it requires. Everything has to be said in three lines of no more than seven syllables each."

    Mattimoe earned a bachelor's degree in English and a master's degree in History from the University of Toledo and was a doctoral student at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

    As lead instructor of social and behavioral sciences, he regularly taught history and humanities courses at the college including American History, World Civilizations and Introduction to Film.

    In his classes, Mattimoe was known for his inventive use of a variety of visual and audio tools to help his students better understand the subject matter. For years, he carefully collected and edited video clips to strengthen his courses in history and the humanities. For his Southern Culture, African-American History and History of Religion classes, he also developed an extensive collection of music and video which is still available in BCCC's Library.

    For more information about his reading, contact Sermons at 252-940-6243 or by email at pennys@beaufortccc.edu.

    Beaufort County Community College is a public comprehensive community college committed to accessible and affordable quality education, effective teaching, relevant training, and lifelong learning opportunities for the people served by the College.