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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
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
104 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 21, 2025
27 people are currently reading
1450 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
February 26, 2025
Three words to describe this collection: immersive, communal, electric.
Femi’s lyricism, paired with his vivid use of imagery, transported me! Not only to a place, but many moments that play on the senses. We are lucky enough to experience The Wickedest through Femi’s words. A place that is pulsing with culture, passion, regret, longing, and energy.
Reading this felt like standing on a dance floor, bathed in party lights, as they euphorically baptize you anew—even if just for one night (or one dance). Femi’s juxtaposition in poetic style perfectly captures the highs and lows that house parties evoke. His portrayal of this London’s night scene—particularly a legendary monthly house party—feels intimate and celebratory, an ode to a community’s heartbeat. making the experience both nostalgic and refreshingly alive. This is an ode to the London night scene, specifically a monthly house party that has become the heartbeat of its community.
The use of photos, text inserts, and other multimedia elements really cemented the vibe and tone, creating a hazy, dreamlike atmosphere. Akin to piecing together the events of an unforgettable night out the next morning while still fresh on your skin. Femi dissects the beats, scenes, intimacies, and interactions with a playful sensory-rich lens that just works. It’s truly a collection that is both reminiscent and refreshing. Femi gives us celebration and authenticity in this nuanced exploration of connection and community that I’m sure many will enjoy.
Femi’s lyricism, paired with his vivid use of imagery, transported me! Not only to a place, but many moments that play on the senses. We are lucky enough to experience The Wickedest through Femi’s words. A place that is pulsing with culture, passion, regret, longing, and energy.
Reading this felt like standing on a dance floor, bathed in party lights, as they euphorically baptize you anew—even if just for one night (or one dance). Femi’s juxtaposition in poetic style perfectly captures the highs and lows that house parties evoke. His portrayal of this London’s night scene—particularly a legendary monthly house party—feels intimate and celebratory, an ode to a community’s heartbeat. making the experience both nostalgic and refreshingly alive. This is an ode to the London night scene, specifically a monthly house party that has become the heartbeat of its community.
The use of photos, text inserts, and other multimedia elements really cemented the vibe and tone, creating a hazy, dreamlike atmosphere. Akin to piecing together the events of an unforgettable night out the next morning while still fresh on your skin. Femi dissects the beats, scenes, intimacies, and interactions with a playful sensory-rich lens that just works. It’s truly a collection that is both reminiscent and refreshing. Femi gives us celebration and authenticity in this nuanced exploration of connection and community that I’m sure many will enjoy.
April 4, 2025
Some of the best poetry I've ever read! It's not enough for me to write down my favorite lines, I want to memorize the whole book!
December 10, 2024
Major thanks to NetGalley and Fourth Estate for offering me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts:
*3.5 rounded up
"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘴 – 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴."
On paper, this is exactly what I should like as a club kid myself, but I found the collection to remain as surfaced-level as house parties go. At times, the prose lifts from the page to make me appreciate the sweet nights of kisses and gatherings and midnight antics, but just as fleeting. Form and function with the inclusion of photographs in here are what make the collection sing and string together a bit better.
*3.5 rounded up
"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘴 – 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴."
On paper, this is exactly what I should like as a club kid myself, but I found the collection to remain as surfaced-level as house parties go. At times, the prose lifts from the page to make me appreciate the sweet nights of kisses and gatherings and midnight antics, but just as fleeting. Form and function with the inclusion of photographs in here are what make the collection sing and string together a bit better.
October 24, 2024
Masterful actually
Caleb Femi writes with so much charisma this really was a joy to read
Caleb Femi writes with so much charisma this really was a joy to read
January 29, 2025
mesmerizing and masterfully done
December 8, 2024
Video review
September 7, 2024
Caleb Femi's composition of The Wickedest is superb with time stamps marking the progression of the event this collection celebrates. Described as a 'modern epic', Femi explores the 'institution' of house parties through stunning lyricism married with hazy, kaleidoscopic photographs. We are transported to the vibrancy, heady and breathing walls of the house in which people are dancing, falling in love, and drowning their sorrows.
The Wickedest is a masterful follow up to Poor, particularly in regards to how it positively embraces culture. This collection is palpably free and wholly symbolic of what it portrays.
The Wickedest is a masterful follow up to Poor, particularly in regards to how it positively embraces culture. This collection is palpably free and wholly symbolic of what it portrays.
January 20, 2025
“Your laugh still sits on my shoulders,
I have not shrugged since they took you.
The morning I found out
I ate cereal with cooking oil.”
-“Max drops the [G] rave bop” p. 64
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Claudia Rankine’s artistry and McKenzie Wark’s prose had a poetic child? This is that banger of a book. Read it in almost one sitting and can’t get enough. Need a part two, right away.
I have not shrugged since they took you.
The morning I found out
I ate cereal with cooking oil.”
-“Max drops the [G] rave bop” p. 64
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Claudia Rankine’s artistry and McKenzie Wark’s prose had a poetic child? This is that banger of a book. Read it in almost one sitting and can’t get enough. Need a part two, right away.
February 10, 2025
Has Cynthia Erivo collabed with Femi yet and someone link me that wickedness. To be clear, I’m giving The Wickedest 3 stars because I’m an uncultured yute and can’t remember the last time I finished a book of poems. I read Femi’s aloud (in an attempt to experience the words?!), and I think it was like normal-good? The Wickedest may have been an appropriate ease into poetry because of the approachable slang and poems’ setting. I don’t have anything coherent to offer, and I hope I will grow in my poetry connoisseuring. Also, in the spirit of hearing Femi, I hope I can go clubbing when I’m back in the city (but def not till 4:45 AM).
December 23, 2024
This second multimodal poetry collection by Caleb Femi depicts a jubilant party which goes under name of 'the wickedest' by offering a minute-by-minute account of the event. The poet specifically incorporates a wide range of cultural modes, including photography, text message and typography, and subsequently blurs the boundary between text and image. As such, the collection is steeped with visual and multimodal elements, underscoring Femi's passion for photography and film. However, I thought the written poems were not as unique as his previous work as they read quite monotonous. It felt like they served their purpose in representing night life of middle-class multicultural communities, but they did not stand on their own as individual works. There were a few poems which experimented with their aesthetics though, such as the poem 'Sonnet 696' which plays around with the tradition of the Shakespearean sonnet.
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February 12, 2025Es divertido ver como la vida se va conectando, que aunque las cosas estén ahí y temas en los que uno se va volviendo consciente o le va dando prioridad pareciera que se van activando como un cartel neón, en esta obra por aspectos sociales y/o culturales no sentí que haya logrado sentir cada palabra como a mi me hubiera gustado, el mensaje que si me logro llegar fue el de la comunidad, amistad y conexión, que aunque siga sin sentirme satisfecha, consideraría que es lo más importante y que me termine sintiendo feliz y confortada.
Para mí este es un año de comunidad, amigos y conexiones, debo mencionar que a la par voy leyendo A little life del cual quiero hacer el paralelo de una de las representaciones de comunidad que hay, esta JB el cual es un personaje de raza negra al igual que el autor del poemario y probablemente la mayoría de las personas en las cuales está inspirada la obra, el es un artista que en sus obras se encuentran amigos y personas que están en su vida, tomando fotos y pintándolos para presentarlos en las galerías, mostrando la vida cotidiana de estos así como mostrando la belleza que tienen en momentos vulnerables,, pensando en ambos al mismo tiempo me llena de emoción el como uno puede hacer arte inspirado en personas queridas, o en momentos de comunidad, saber que tanto el amor platónico tanto como las ganas de crear se encuentra más presente de de lo que creemos y amar en cada facetas de las personas, verlas, entenderlas y quererlas.
Si considero que aunque haya mucha representación de amistades en todo tipo de media, no siento que se demuestre como algo puro, inocente o incluso pasional, ya que a veces se le da jerarquía a otras conexiones humanas cuando en mi opinión todas deberían de tener la misma(lo dire sin pensar mucho en que claramente las relaciones con los papás es muy particular), todas son importantes y me encantan los momentos cuando con una persona sientes que van llegando a otro momento de amistad, intimidad o cercanía, se sienten como filtros que una vez pasándolos solo mejora.
Últimamente he pensado en la importancia de las interacciones con extraños y como pueden alegrar, empeorar el día o cambiar la vida, es algo que sin pensar en los resultados negativos me gustaría hacer más seguido y que al final del día todo trata de comunidad, bondad y empatía.
Para mí este es un año de comunidad, amigos y conexiones, debo mencionar que a la par voy leyendo A little life del cual quiero hacer el paralelo de una de las representaciones de comunidad que hay, esta JB el cual es un personaje de raza negra al igual que el autor del poemario y probablemente la mayoría de las personas en las cuales está inspirada la obra, el es un artista que en sus obras se encuentran amigos y personas que están en su vida, tomando fotos y pintándolos para presentarlos en las galerías, mostrando la vida cotidiana de estos así como mostrando la belleza que tienen en momentos vulnerables,, pensando en ambos al mismo tiempo me llena de emoción el como uno puede hacer arte inspirado en personas queridas, o en momentos de comunidad, saber que tanto el amor platónico tanto como las ganas de crear se encuentra más presente de de lo que creemos y amar en cada facetas de las personas, verlas, entenderlas y quererlas.
Si considero que aunque haya mucha representación de amistades en todo tipo de media, no siento que se demuestre como algo puro, inocente o incluso pasional, ya que a veces se le da jerarquía a otras conexiones humanas cuando en mi opinión todas deberían de tener la misma(lo dire sin pensar mucho en que claramente las relaciones con los papás es muy particular), todas son importantes y me encantan los momentos cuando con una persona sientes que van llegando a otro momento de amistad, intimidad o cercanía, se sienten como filtros que una vez pasándolos solo mejora.
Últimamente he pensado en la importancia de las interacciones con extraños y como pueden alegrar, empeorar el día o cambiar la vida, es algo que sin pensar en los resultados negativos me gustaría hacer más seguido y que al final del día todo trata de comunidad, bondad y empatía.
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January 14, 2025thank you to mcd / fsg for sending this my way!
the wickedest details the south london party scene by way of photographs, poems, text messages, and more. documenting only one night, this collection evokes the nightlife experience and transports the reader on every page.
this was my first time encountering caleb femi’s writing, and i finished this collection in one sitting. admittedly, a lot of this read like something i didn’t quite understand. i’m not a poetry head, and i’m definitely not a club kid. but i found this an enjoyable experience nonetheless. there is a tenderness here, a fondness for the south london shoob scene and its participants, that radiates from femi’s writing. there is also one specific reference to the chimera ant arc from hunter x hunter that spoke to me specifically, as someone who has endured that very narrative arc in both the manga and the anime.
i will say that the summary of this collection promise some context that the contents did not fully deliver. this could be attributed to me just not fully understanding everything, but maybe things really were just underdeveloped.
regardless, this was an interesting read and i’m glad to have encountered it!
the wickedest details the south london party scene by way of photographs, poems, text messages, and more. documenting only one night, this collection evokes the nightlife experience and transports the reader on every page.
this was my first time encountering caleb femi’s writing, and i finished this collection in one sitting. admittedly, a lot of this read like something i didn’t quite understand. i’m not a poetry head, and i’m definitely not a club kid. but i found this an enjoyable experience nonetheless. there is a tenderness here, a fondness for the south london shoob scene and its participants, that radiates from femi’s writing. there is also one specific reference to the chimera ant arc from hunter x hunter that spoke to me specifically, as someone who has endured that very narrative arc in both the manga and the anime.
i will say that the summary of this collection promise some context that the contents did not fully deliver. this could be attributed to me just not fully understanding everything, but maybe things really were just underdeveloped.
regardless, this was an interesting read and i’m glad to have encountered it!
February 3, 2025
Caleb Femi's latest poetry collection, The Wickedest, takes place on a single night at an underground house party in South London. I loved the different blend of media here - from photographs to text messages to poetry and documents - the vibrancy of nightlife is conveyed. Larger themes are explored including how marginalized communities find solace and collective healing in parties. My favourite piece was one poem in the form of a controversial party permit devised by the London police that, from 2008 to 2017, required organizers to list which music genres and ethnic groups could be expected at an event.
November 1, 2024
3.5 reminded me of the many things i enjoyed abt reading Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks. vibes and community
February 27, 2025
poems to be read in a British accent. Very cool but wish it was messier? Idk
December 23, 2024
Great lyricism that brings to life the night life with subtext that feels like Londoners can only really understand. Read if you wanna feel young and dumb and in love with the big city.
February 6, 2025
A poetry collection in the truest sense. World building. Story telling. No one does it better.
February 24, 2025
Agree with the three words Books Amongst Friends uses to review this book: immersive, community, electric
July 5, 2024
epic and so vivid
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November 24, 2024If memory serves, in Femi's first collection, 'Poor', there's a poem about a room full of people listening to 'Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1'. I remember it being a good poem—the whole collection was stellar—and liking what he did with the DJ-hierophant connection. This collection, if not a direct descendent of that poem, is clearly interested in similar themes: communal experience, finding sanctity in the quotidian, parties as these strange containers for simultaneous grief and joy. Inevitably, the DJ-author connection comes to mind. Femi scatters a few poems from the voice of the DJ throughout, as if he likes this idea where he's someone organising a collection of forces, channeling existing songs and rhythms and remixing them into something new and moving...but he doesn't do much with them. A couple jokes, here and there, but he doesn't plumb very deep. Really, most of the collection is dedicated to a novelistic drifting between consciousnesses, the poems emerging from different individuals' experiences of similar aspects of the "shoobs". A couple poems stood out, but again, I feel like Femi didn't go far enough with everything he'd set up. Even if the sketches of different characters are light, I would have liked the organiser, Lala, or even the event itself, The Wickedest, to be given the depth of a character, an actual subject. Instead it's mostly vibes. And vibes are fine, but one cannot leave a meal full on a diet of vibes alone.
September 26, 2024
Sadly not for me at all, despite loving his first poetry collection. I think I am not the target audience to apprechiate this.
January 14, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed Caleb Femi's examination of a group of party goers who we follow over the course of one night at a long-running house party called The Wickedest.
Through a collage of poetry, photos, prose, text messages and even a Notes app list, Femi gives us a glimpse into the experiences and inner thoughts of a varied cast of characters. The collection shifts rapidly between styles and formats which was, at times, disorientating particularly in such a short book. Femi handles all the formats he tackles with unmistakable skill but the collection loses a sense of coherence without a consistent voice for readers to anchor themselves to.
I grew up in South East London where house parties were very much part of the culture and I think this helped ground me in the book. While I didn't always fully understand what I was reading, I appreciated the nostalgia The Wickedest stirred in me and I know I will gain even more from a reread.
If you find yourself feeling slightly unmoored when reading The Wickedest, my advice would be to immerse yourself in the atmosphere rather than attempting to construct a linear narrative. The photos interspersed throughout the book are particularly effective in conveying a sense of place and the collection greatly benefits from their inclusion. The audiobook is read by Caleb Femi and, while I haven't listened to it in its entirety, the sample I heard helped me tap into the rhythm of the pieces and may help other readers too.
Whether this collection immediately resonates, or you have to work a little harder to understand what is happening, you will be rewarded with Femi's originality, creativity and talent. Amidst the experimentation with form and language there are plenty of beautiful lines that I highlighted just so I can revisit them in the future. I loved Femi's previous book 'Poor' and, having enjoyed this work as well, I look forward to what Caleb Femi will write next.
My thanks to the publisher for sending me an advance copy of this book for free for the purposes of review.
Through a collage of poetry, photos, prose, text messages and even a Notes app list, Femi gives us a glimpse into the experiences and inner thoughts of a varied cast of characters. The collection shifts rapidly between styles and formats which was, at times, disorientating particularly in such a short book. Femi handles all the formats he tackles with unmistakable skill but the collection loses a sense of coherence without a consistent voice for readers to anchor themselves to.
I grew up in South East London where house parties were very much part of the culture and I think this helped ground me in the book. While I didn't always fully understand what I was reading, I appreciated the nostalgia The Wickedest stirred in me and I know I will gain even more from a reread.
If you find yourself feeling slightly unmoored when reading The Wickedest, my advice would be to immerse yourself in the atmosphere rather than attempting to construct a linear narrative. The photos interspersed throughout the book are particularly effective in conveying a sense of place and the collection greatly benefits from their inclusion. The audiobook is read by Caleb Femi and, while I haven't listened to it in its entirety, the sample I heard helped me tap into the rhythm of the pieces and may help other readers too.
Whether this collection immediately resonates, or you have to work a little harder to understand what is happening, you will be rewarded with Femi's originality, creativity and talent. Amidst the experimentation with form and language there are plenty of beautiful lines that I highlighted just so I can revisit them in the future. I loved Femi's previous book 'Poor' and, having enjoyed this work as well, I look forward to what Caleb Femi will write next.
My thanks to the publisher for sending me an advance copy of this book for free for the purposes of review.
March 11, 2025
Poems That Make Me Miss My Clubbing Days (But Not Enough To Stay Out Till Dawn)
This was a very creative book of poetry, all focused on the nightclub life in London. The Wickedest refers to a monthly dance party (rave) that poet Caleb Femi writes so passionately about. His love of music is evident in just about every poem and he stopped me dead in my tracks with these lines:
My mother’s heartbeat,
the first time I heard a bassline.
Her womb, the first room I danced in.
Besides traditional poems this book includes some photos of dance clubs and also a poem that is a screen shot of a text conversation (like I said, very creative). At 87 pages, even though I read most of these poems multiple times (the more I love a poem the more I reread it), it was a quick read.
It’s been a long time since my “clubbing days” so most of the emotions this book conjured were distant memories, almost a lifetime ago. Still they stirred some feeling in me like when he describes leaving a club at sunrise and taking “the first full breath of a new day/ the only one we do nothing to earn.” That made me smile and reminisce for a moment.
Here are a few more lines that really struck me:
Dancing is your body falling from a skyscraper
and suddenly learning flight.
God until my final breath
let me remember this night
the song rupturing the speakers,
isn’t that what it feels like?
hearing a song for the first time
realising that it’s always been playing
in the background of your life?
shout-out to the ravers inside
who came to have a good time
cos we don’t always have a long time
the disk jockey is the keystone
a soundweaver
turning songs into
sonic Matryoshka dolls
Corny shit sounds glorious
How frightening to think of tomorrow
without you.
we laughed ourselves headless
Sweet night air barren of fucks to give.
It is true what they say:
no drug is more potent than puberty
and after it peaks the comedown
will last your lifetime.
This was a very creative book of poetry, all focused on the nightclub life in London. The Wickedest refers to a monthly dance party (rave) that poet Caleb Femi writes so passionately about. His love of music is evident in just about every poem and he stopped me dead in my tracks with these lines:
My mother’s heartbeat,
the first time I heard a bassline.
Her womb, the first room I danced in.
Besides traditional poems this book includes some photos of dance clubs and also a poem that is a screen shot of a text conversation (like I said, very creative). At 87 pages, even though I read most of these poems multiple times (the more I love a poem the more I reread it), it was a quick read.
It’s been a long time since my “clubbing days” so most of the emotions this book conjured were distant memories, almost a lifetime ago. Still they stirred some feeling in me like when he describes leaving a club at sunrise and taking “the first full breath of a new day/ the only one we do nothing to earn.” That made me smile and reminisce for a moment.
Here are a few more lines that really struck me:
Dancing is your body falling from a skyscraper
and suddenly learning flight.
God until my final breath
let me remember this night
the song rupturing the speakers,
isn’t that what it feels like?
hearing a song for the first time
realising that it’s always been playing
in the background of your life?
shout-out to the ravers inside
who came to have a good time
cos we don’t always have a long time
the disk jockey is the keystone
a soundweaver
turning songs into
sonic Matryoshka dolls
Corny shit sounds glorious
How frightening to think of tomorrow
without you.
we laughed ourselves headless
Sweet night air barren of fucks to give.
It is true what they say:
no drug is more potent than puberty
and after it peaks the comedown
will last your lifetime.
August 18, 2024
"My G, what light is there brighter than my sorrow?"
An epic honouring of freedom, fun, culture, youth, comradery and relationships - this collection will take you on a JOURNEY!
This tour of a single night out, told via a minute-by-minute account is wonderfully vivid and undeniably nostalgic for places and memories you've known as well as the ones you will experience.
It is full of charisma and is unapologetic about appealing to an audience that just 'gets' it, while leaving room open for others to peek in through the crack in the door and then realise they want to join.
Regardless of if poetry is your thing or not, I believe you will see yourself or your someone you know in one (or many) of the people/experiences we meet along the night.
Growing up in West London, but in a very controlling household, I didn't really get to experience life outside the four walls of my home until I went to uni in Birmingham. It was honestly the most surreal experience because I was suddenly surrounded by the global majority in a way that I didn't know I was missing and even though I was clearly sooo different to the rest of them (most of my uni friends being from South London or Birmingham - very different to West London), I was embraced in a way that will always give me chills as well as bring me comfort - that is what this collection took me back to. IT IS GLORIOUS!
Oh, and once again, Femi's use of photography is transporting and brings the night completely to life in the palm of your hands!
More than anything, this collection is a celebration and it's one you want to take part in!
An epic honouring of freedom, fun, culture, youth, comradery and relationships - this collection will take you on a JOURNEY!
This tour of a single night out, told via a minute-by-minute account is wonderfully vivid and undeniably nostalgic for places and memories you've known as well as the ones you will experience.
It is full of charisma and is unapologetic about appealing to an audience that just 'gets' it, while leaving room open for others to peek in through the crack in the door and then realise they want to join.
Regardless of if poetry is your thing or not, I believe you will see yourself or your someone you know in one (or many) of the people/experiences we meet along the night.
Growing up in West London, but in a very controlling household, I didn't really get to experience life outside the four walls of my home until I went to uni in Birmingham. It was honestly the most surreal experience because I was suddenly surrounded by the global majority in a way that I didn't know I was missing and even though I was clearly sooo different to the rest of them (most of my uni friends being from South London or Birmingham - very different to West London), I was embraced in a way that will always give me chills as well as bring me comfort - that is what this collection took me back to. IT IS GLORIOUS!
Oh, and once again, Femi's use of photography is transporting and brings the night completely to life in the palm of your hands!
More than anything, this collection is a celebration and it's one you want to take part in!
March 4, 2025
I haven’t read as much poetry as I would like and, especially, haven’t read much of any contemporary poetry. This is the first poetry book I’ve read and I really liked it. The pace of it is great, I really enjoyed the connectedness to a central story. Having the book take place over the course of a night. I think poetry has a certain immediacy to it, more so than fiction. I can read a hundred pages in a book and not know what’s happening but still be engaged and interested. But if a poem doesn’t make an immediate impression or impact I’m not really drawn to it, I won’t go back to it. But when it does have that instant impact it hits hard and those are the poems that I go back to a lot. My two favorites from this book are “Jevon Catches the Fever” and “Fredrick Stick Talks in Another Dimension.” This book will hopefully encourage me to read more poetry.
“listen this is what I want for you, a soft landing into the right arms – isn’t that what it feels like? hearing a song for the first time realising that it’s always been playing in the background of your life?”
“o hungry night make me or obliterate me”
“I ran my fingers along the wall the windowsill feeling for the seams of the universe an opening, a glitch, small tear in the cosmic curtain to peel this papier-mâché reality.”
“listen this is what I want for you, a soft landing into the right arms – isn’t that what it feels like? hearing a song for the first time realising that it’s always been playing in the background of your life?”
“o hungry night make me or obliterate me”
“I ran my fingers along the wall the windowsill feeling for the seams of the universe an opening, a glitch, small tear in the cosmic curtain to peel this papier-mâché reality.”
April 14, 2025
Reading The Wickedest felt like being dropped into one of those wild Bombay house parties from the 2000s—back when everything felt a little blurry, a little magical, and everything that mattered happened after midnight.
There was a certain electricity in those nights. Flats in Bandra or Andheri, music shaking the walls, people squeezed onto terraces with plastic cups, trying to forget rent and heartbreak and parents calling to check in. That’s exactly the feeling Caleb Femi taps into in his second poetry collection. Set during a secret house party in South London, the book is a tribute to those spaces where we escape the grind and, for a few hours, feel infinite.
Femi’s verses reminded me of when we danced not to impress, but to let go. When a favorite track came on, and you looked around the room knowing everyone felt the drop in the same way. His lines about the DJ’s shout-outs, the couple blocking the breeze by the window—it brought me right back to someone’s cousin spinning tracks off a cracked laptop while we danced barefoot on beer-sticky tiles.
But Femi’s poems go deeper too. He writes of grief, poverty, hope, and noise—the kind that clings to you even after you’ve left the party. In between the beats, there’s a sense of what people carry with them, the things they don't say. The quiet pain we drowned in bass.
Some poems are raw, scattered. But that’s how memories feel, isn’t it?
The Wickedest doesn’t ask to be judged as literature. It asks to be felt. And I did. I remembered old nights, old friends, the smell of rum and sweat and cheap perfume—and how, even then, we knew we were dancing to forget something. Or maybe to remember who we really were.
There was a certain electricity in those nights. Flats in Bandra or Andheri, music shaking the walls, people squeezed onto terraces with plastic cups, trying to forget rent and heartbreak and parents calling to check in. That’s exactly the feeling Caleb Femi taps into in his second poetry collection. Set during a secret house party in South London, the book is a tribute to those spaces where we escape the grind and, for a few hours, feel infinite.
Femi’s verses reminded me of when we danced not to impress, but to let go. When a favorite track came on, and you looked around the room knowing everyone felt the drop in the same way. His lines about the DJ’s shout-outs, the couple blocking the breeze by the window—it brought me right back to someone’s cousin spinning tracks off a cracked laptop while we danced barefoot on beer-sticky tiles.
But Femi’s poems go deeper too. He writes of grief, poverty, hope, and noise—the kind that clings to you even after you’ve left the party. In between the beats, there’s a sense of what people carry with them, the things they don't say. The quiet pain we drowned in bass.
Some poems are raw, scattered. But that’s how memories feel, isn’t it?
The Wickedest doesn’t ask to be judged as literature. It asks to be felt. And I did. I remembered old nights, old friends, the smell of rum and sweat and cheap perfume—and how, even then, we knew we were dancing to forget something. Or maybe to remember who we really were.
October 4, 2024
‘The Wickedest’ is an ode to black nightlife; each poem captures a minute in the titular house party, whining through themes of community and passion, music and dance. This is a multi-media affair, a mixtape of various poetic forms, photography, text message and, even, government documents. I’m a huge fan of Femi’s previous collection,
‘Poor’, but this sophomore piece was less successful for me as a whole.
While I enjoyed the experimentation and Femi’s lyrical talent of expressing the rhythms of the rave and transporting the reader to places unfamiliar is impressive, the work felt a bit incohesive. Perhaps this was meant to mimick the freewheeling flow of the ‘shoob’ itself, but it left me feeling a bit like a party-pooper, sipping my wine in the corner, listening to half-heard beats I couldn’t fully appreciate. Nonetheless, I’m happy this book, which amplifies the precarious existence of black venues and the importance of escapism, exists in the world.
‘Poor’, but this sophomore piece was less successful for me as a whole.
While I enjoyed the experimentation and Femi’s lyrical talent of expressing the rhythms of the rave and transporting the reader to places unfamiliar is impressive, the work felt a bit incohesive. Perhaps this was meant to mimick the freewheeling flow of the ‘shoob’ itself, but it left me feeling a bit like a party-pooper, sipping my wine in the corner, listening to half-heard beats I couldn’t fully appreciate. Nonetheless, I’m happy this book, which amplifies the precarious existence of black venues and the importance of escapism, exists in the world.
May 28, 2025
I've read through this collection three times since I read it last night before going to bed. No words. It might have to go into my top five of all time. Read this book.
Honestly I was unsure how he’d follow Poor, which still feels like his masterpiece. But this book holds its own. The recurring “DJ Shoutout” voice is such a clever device, grounding the poems in community and memory while elevating them at the same time.
Highlights include Core Memories (Max II), Police Disturbance, Shoobz Economics, and Max Drops the G Rave Bop—that one especially is just a knockout.
I was unsure how he’d follow Poor, which still feels like his masterpiece. But this book holds its own. The recurring “DJ Shoutout” voice is such a clever device, grounding the poems in community and memory while elevating them at the same time.
Femi once called himself a “merchant of joy”—and this collection proves it. It's the best poetry I’ve read all year, full of heart, craft, and brilliant ideas.
Honestly I was unsure how he’d follow Poor, which still feels like his masterpiece. But this book holds its own. The recurring “DJ Shoutout” voice is such a clever device, grounding the poems in community and memory while elevating them at the same time.
Highlights include Core Memories (Max II), Police Disturbance, Shoobz Economics, and Max Drops the G Rave Bop—that one especially is just a knockout.
I was unsure how he’d follow Poor, which still feels like his masterpiece. But this book holds its own. The recurring “DJ Shoutout” voice is such a clever device, grounding the poems in community and memory while elevating them at the same time.
Femi once called himself a “merchant of joy”—and this collection proves it. It's the best poetry I’ve read all year, full of heart, craft, and brilliant ideas.
July 31, 2024
This was quite a unique poetry collection! It wasn't quite what I expected but I liked how accessible it was and it made for very easy reading. This could be a good starter into poetry book.
It focused in on the themes of relationships, freedom and celebration. I really liked the use of photography within the collection. Just like with Arlo Parks', it adds to the poetry.
I also really liked when it talked about individual characters and what they have going on beyond their club night, and what lies beneath the surface of someone having a good time.
However, it didn't fully win me over the way I like to be with my poetry -- probably because for this format and type of collection I'd want it to be double the length, which would leave space to sink into individual characters even more.
It focused in on the themes of relationships, freedom and celebration. I really liked the use of photography within the collection. Just like with Arlo Parks', it adds to the poetry.
I also really liked when it talked about individual characters and what they have going on beyond their club night, and what lies beneath the surface of someone having a good time.
However, it didn't fully win me over the way I like to be with my poetry -- probably because for this format and type of collection I'd want it to be double the length, which would leave space to sink into individual characters even more.
June 2, 2025
Stands sturdier as a multimodal, concept-driven art project than a poetry collection. The woven, double-back nature of the narrative-driven form here keeps things compelling and offers far richer "character development" than one would usually locate in poetry, but the language itself is unadorned and straightforward more often than not. A better work would deliver poems that provoke and titillate and deliver beauty outside the context of the larger work; with The Wickedest, little works independently and instead all is in service of the whole. That whole is a sometimes electric, thrilling read, and maybe I'm being a bit overly pedantic and/or semantic, but concept art shouldn't feel as much like a cheat code as it does here.
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