The Wickedest
‘Atmospheric and intoxicating … The Wickedest is a heady night in the dance’ CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS
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.
‘A joyous, lyrical read‘ YOMI ADEGOKE
‘A near-holy experience’ JONATHAN ESCOFFERY
‘This is poetry that moves and is felt in the body’ ANDREW MCMILLAN
‘Atmospheric and intoxicating, lyrical and inviting … a heady night in the dance, and Caleb Femi is the life of the literary party' Candice Carty-Williams, author of People Person -
”'Immersive, rapturous writing that truly transports … A joyous, lyrical read that I won't soon forget and Caleb Femi, an exceptionally talented poet” - Yomi Adegoke, author of The List
”'From its first word this is poetry that moves and is felt in the body; the poem taken from the page to the dance floor of the club” - Andrew McMillan, author of Pity
”'Wholly immersive, The Wickedest crystalizes and forever elevates bashment in this pulsing, visceral fever dream … A near-holy experience, The Wickedest should be read, reread, and studied” - Jonathan Escoffery, author of If I Survive You
”'A mellifluously marvellous journey towards joy … pulses with Rhythm and Poetry at its most penetrating and picturesque. Caleb has constructed a jewel of a jam; glimmering, sweaty, sensual, unforgettable” - Inua Ellams, author of The Half-God of Rainfall
'Renders thrillingly tangible a world of moments in which the relationship between the DJ the riddim and the dancer is a kind of sacrament, a form of collective healing in the face of life's manifold threats to black life' Kayo Chingonyi, author of A Blood Condition -
”'A mesmerizing journey through the different moments of one night’s revelry. A heady mix of the formal and urbane, the sacred and mundane … A unique cultural experience … A hypnotic, experiential happening of a book” - essential reading for all’ Roger Robinson, author of A Portable Paradise
'A riveting collection, bottled in a time capsule of nostalgia, and lived experience. These poems are as tender, as they are a vibe. A head nod to communities meeting in ritual' Yomi Sode, author of Manorisms -