One of the things that marks out the truly bad poet, as opposed to the merely 'quite bad', is the ambition of their subject matter. Not for them the normal subjects such as love, death, friendship, royalty or cats. No, the truly bad poet is a pioneer. And no-one has more consciously tried to break new ground than Samuel Wesley, father of the more famous John and Charles.

Samuel's major work is charmingly entitled Maggots: Or, Poems On Several Subjects, Never Before Handled. Published in 1685, and engagingly illustrated with a picture of the author with a large maggot sitting on his forehead, Maggots takes verse into a brave new world of obscure and ludicrous themes.

Poems such as 'On a Supper of a Stinking Ducks', 'Three Skips of a Louse', 'On The Bear-Fac'd Lady', and 'A Dilalogue Between a Frying-Pan and a Chamber-Pot' demonstrate not only a challenging idea of what a poem should be about, but verse styles which fully live down to their subject matter.

Quite what effect his writing had on his sons it is hard to say. There are those who think that John Wesley only founded Methodism as a way of saying 'sorry' for his father's poetry. And when the great preacher was banned from preaching within Anglican churches, he dramatically preached upon his father's grave. As opposed to all poetry lovers since who have been more inclined to dance on it.

Now you have the chance to decide. For the first time, you can experience the joy of 'Maggots' for yourself.