Bridwell Library invites students, faculty and staff to celebrate the 3rd annual Samuel Wesley Bad Poetry Contest and 5th annual Bridwell Edible Book Festival. Participants may submit their own piece of bad poetry, a book-inspired sweet or savory dish, or both. Prizes will be awarded!

BEBFest 2026

The rules for the Bridwell Edible Book Festival (BEBFest) are as follows:

• Entries must have a book or library-related theme and may have a short description with them. They may bring the book, but don't have to.
• Entries are usually comical, clever, witty, or have double-meanings, but they don’t have to be
• Entries must be made of something edible, but do not have to be entirely edible (i.e., you can have props!)
• Entrants may be from anywhere within the entire SMU community
• Entrants may only submit one entry at the time of the event
• Group or team projects are welcome, one entry per group

Samuel Wesley Bad Poetry Contest

Prizes will be awarded in three different categories: 

• Cleverest bad title
• Most sincere, yet ghastly sonnet
• Most faithful adaptation of Samuel’s voice

Deadline Friday, April 17, 2026 at 4pm. Please send bad poetry entries to jelder@smu.edu.

Winners announced on: April 23rd.

Samuel Wesley, father of John and Charles, is credited by many resources as a clergyman, writer, and poet.  Indeed, he published his first volume of poetry in 1685 following his graduation from Oxford University.  What many people fail to mention about Samuel, however, is just how awful a poet he was.  His book, entitled Maggots: or, Poems on Several Subjects Never Before Handled, contains such captivating poems as “On a Supper of Stinking Ducks” and “A Tame Snake Left in a Box of Bran Was Devoured by a Mouse after a Great Battle.”  Contestants wishing to refer to Wesley’s work will find online copies through the ProQuest One Literature Database or Early English Books Online.

The winning entries will be exhibited in Bridwell Library, alongside the first edition of Maggots, between May and September 2026. They will also be preserved in Bridwell Library’s Samuel Wesley Bad Poetry Archive and may be published at a later date. 

Please direct any questions to the Reference Librarians. All members of the SMU community are eligible to vote, whether or not you’ve submitted an entry.