It’s no secret to any music fan that the Christian rock scene has been gaining more and more momentum during the past year, but fewer people may pay attention to Christian poetry.

That’s right, poetry.

“I love the shock of being a poet at a show,” says 22-year-old Bradley Hathaway.

“People are so much more easy-going [at shows] than at poetry readings. No one’s, like, critiquing you.”

Hathaway says he started writing poetry two years ago, but unlike many poets, his career took off after only two weeks.

While hanging out with his friends in Christian hard-core band Norma Jean at the Christian music festival Cornerstone, he thought it would be funny if they let him get up before they went onstage and read his poetry.

The band gave him 15 minutes of its time, and, according to Hathaway, it put him on the map.

Reading his poetry at Cornerstone was a huge step for Hathaway, but it also gave him the opportunity to approach members of the Christian rock band Blindside and ask them if he could tour with them.

“I delivered water so I could get up on stage [and talk to them],” Hathaway says.

Blindside had heard him before and liked the topics his poems covered. After talking with him, the band members invited him to open for them on tour.

And while Hathaway’s work ethic has helped him get his foot in the door, it has also paid off for fellow Arkansans, Christian rock band The Wedding.

Formed during the winter break of their high school senior year in 2003, the members of The Wedding have been able to accomplish in their short existence what few bands accomplish during their entire life span.

The 2003 graduates landed themselves a gig opening for a tour that very summer.

“We were pretty much forced to be good,” says guitarist Trevor Sarver.

Their friend, Cody Drigger, who went along for the ride, ended up joining the band on bass, rounding out the lineup as a quartet and adding a new dimension to the band’s sound, which was already a blend of several different sounds.

“We’re energetic indie-rock with punk and hard-core influences,” Sarver says.

Hathaway’s Christian faith affects his views on everything and gives him much of his inspiration, but he also writes about what he calls “typical 22-year-old dude stuff.”

“I just want people to think, period,” Hathaway says.

“Generally I’ll just throw things out there and let them think about it.”

In February he will start his self-promoted nine-week tour, which he calls “The potluck/house tour,” that will take him coast to coast and even into Canada. The tour was booked after he put up a notice for the tour on his Web site and received an amazing response.

“I’m just going to be in people’s houses and they are going to bring food and stuff,” Hathaway says. “It’s crazy.”

He’s living off of donations alone for the tour, and has only gotten paid once in more than 100 shows.

“I pretty much go off faith, and people take care of me,” Hathaway says.

“You gotta do whatever you gotta do to get started.”