'Atmospheric and intoxicating' CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS
'A joyous, lyrical read' YOMI ADEGOKE
'Hypnotic and freewheeling' GUARDIAN
A GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR
WINNER OF THE SKY ARTS POETRY AWARD 2025
Caleb Femi returns with a landmark, life-affirming new poetry collection, The Wickedest.
This is a minute-by-minute depiction of a typical night at a legendary monthly house party known as 'The Wickedest'. Here, we meet a vivid cast of characters, young and old, all surfing a revelry steeped in camaraderie, community, desire and a spirit of jubilant defiance.
A modern epic, The Wickedest explores the institution of shoobs or house parties and their vital role within working-class communities. The poems range from classical English sonnets to experimental forms and are immersively interwoven with photographs, text messages and ephemera. The collection playfully dissembles parties – in space, sound, law and bureaucracy – to document the precarious existence of our nightlife venues.
In Caleb Femi's inimitable, cinematic style the book builds to a crescendo that is at once euphoric and grief-soaked. The Wickedest calls us to cast our minds to the moments we stood surrounded by our loved ones on a dancefloor, arms outstretched, and freed ourselves from the weight of reality to float.
'One of London's most renowned poets' SALMA EL-WARDANY, BBC Radio London
'I love the collection so much' NICK GRIMSHAW, BBC Radio 6
'A near-holy experience' JONATHAN ESCOFFERY
'This is poetry that moves and is felt in the body' ANDREW MCMILLAN
Caleb Femi's collection, Poor, won the Forward Prize's Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection in 2021