'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 Femi's The Wickedest is a novel that sings with the music of protest, a story that resonates with the themes of the African and English communities. It's a collection of stories that echo the shared experiences of working-class communities, a testament to the power of unity and resilience.For fans of John Burnside (Waking Up in Toytown), Warsan Shire (Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth), James Baldwin (The Fire Next Time), Momtaza Mehri (Bad Diaspora Poems), and Maggie Nelson (The Red Parts).HarperCollins 2024
