The Hidden Poetry of Bean's Books

Before I was a bookstore owner, I was a writer. And, well, I still am. Between editing my debut novel, The Bridge of Evon, and creating content for the store, I stay pretty busy. Never as busy as my college days, though. I doubled majored in English and Creative Writing at UCA and graduated this past May. Each semester I took between 1-3 writing classes, and within those classes I wrote many, many pieces of work. Not all were perfect, but I made sure to give them my full attention and creative ability. And oh how I loved it. College never truly suited me, but creating, and creating good stories, poems, essays, etc., that drove me.

The passion behind it was to craft works of Christian Fiction that broke the current mold of cheesy, cliche stories that rely far too heavily on the Amish. It's what I based my entire Honors College Capstone on, but that's for another post. With each assignment I was given I had before me the chance to A) show people (mostly my professor and classmates) the raw power that came from writing for God, and B) present the truths of God and the Gospel to those who had to read what I wrote (also mostly my professor and classmates). Colleges today are heavily secular - Creative Writing classes almost completely. I thus took a stand with my writing and the content it included. While dozens of stories came and went dissenting about the church or trying to point a nasty finger at Christianity, mine did the opposite. It praised God. Reflected on my failures, the ways I fall short. Highlighted the goodness within his Word and truths we as His children need to hide in our hearts. I like to believe I achieved this, even if on a small scale. Much of what I wrote ended up published in The Vortex, our on-campus magazine (I got in around 30 times, not to brag), with four works winning Editor's Choice in their respective categories. Often times I was one of the few, if not the only Christian voice, but at least I was there. Active. Writing and putting my heart out for my Lord. As mentioned in the "Our Story" page on this site, that's been my goal for whatever I do, Bean's Books included. If I'm not doing all I can to be God's servant, than what am I living my life for?

The reason I say all this is because some of the very poems I wrote are on display at the store. They decorate our Reading Nook in the back of the shop, up on the wall for all to read. I don't do this just to showcase my work; I do it to offer our customers strong, inspiring Christian work; I do it as a testament to the many trying days I spent in class enduring judgement and ridicule for my faith; I do it to push myself to keep writing, even when we get busy, even when it's the last thing on my list to do; but, most importantly, I do it to remind myself of the journey I'm on. Bean's Books is just the next step in trying to share God's glory through the written word. When I look back on how I got here, it's impossible to skip past the time I spent crafting my own stories, building the foundation of my belief in the process. I'm just further up the trail now than I was back then. The same mission, only a different spot.

Like (some) poetry, it rhymes.

Below are the selection of poems we have on display, along with some small commentary to give you a little insight into them. My plan is to eventually publish a short collection of poetry from my college years. Let me know if you'd enjoy that. You'll know where you can buy it at ;)

The title (and content) are inspired by Psalm 23. This is also one of my all time favorite poems I've ever written. The word choice, imagery, and enjambment all felt right.

I made sure to include a lot of Biblical imagery, such as the "thorn" in reference to Paul's ailment, "trumpet" and "honey" evoking the Old Testament, and the final line bringing the feel of Revelations 12:12.

I thought of this poem while taking the trash out during a dark autumn night, right on the verge of a storm. These are my thoughts at seeing the sight (of not a tad dramatized).

If anything, this poem is meant to call me out. I'm often the slacker with the unread Bible, the one who leaves a seat open by missing out on church. In doing so, as the poem says, the Devil gets eager. We're giving him the chance to act on us when we backslide in our faith. The title too reflects this, being taken from a particularly powerful passage in James wherein he says that a man who reads God's Word but doesn't practice it is like a man who looks in a mirror but forget what he looks like when he turns around. Thus, by saying "What do you look like?" I'm asking the reader if they're being proactive in their faith. Do they go beyond just being a Christian in name? Or do they forget their own reflection when their Bible shuts?

With this poem, I wanted to fight back at the notion of Arkansas being this hillbilly back country with nothing of substance to offer. The title, "Arkansas Sirens" is taken from a line in the poem "The Arkansas Testament" by Derek Walcott where the narrator warns of the Arkansas Sirens drawing someone in. That made me wonder what would sirens from our State tempt people with. What do they shout to the world? What do they say to lure the lost sailor? Well, for my answer, I twisted the question, and imagined them as being honest, not deceitful, akin to the modern interpterion of sirens as loud, blistering noises. This let me present the Arkansas that I've grown up around. The true version of the state. One where God and nature interact on a holy level, where we see Him every time we step outside our doors. If I had to lure someone here, that's what I'd present to them. The truth. Also, fun fact, this poem was published in Issue 11 of Heart and Flesh Literary Journal! You can find it and the magazine (a wonderful magazine at that) here: https://heartoffleshlit.com/issue-11/marshall-cunningham/.