"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.

Gorgeous poetry about a long running house party in London, the longing for a very specific time of your life that's gone now, and some astounding pictures to go with it. Definitely pick it up.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠, 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐚 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐬, 𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬, 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐬. 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧! 𝐈𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒞𝒶𝓁𝑒𝒷 𝐹𝑒𝓂𝒾, 𝐹𝒶𝓇𝓇𝒶𝓇, 𝒮𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓊𝓈, & 𝒢𝒾𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓍, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

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.

I'm thinking about the "long poem" in relation to what Stephanie Burt has written about the form, namely questions of: "What holds a book of poems together? What makes it feel like something more than, something other than, a gathering, a stack, a heap, a mere collocation?"

Caleb Femi’s The Wickedest provides an easy and effortless answer: a nightclub, an epic party, a dance that never ends. The Wickedest is a sweaty & intoxicating poem, glowing luminescent darkness all the way through. The only comp that comes to mind might be Tommy Pico's IRL, or Luke Kennard's Sonnets (a collection of poems set in a sad house party). Where Kennard is more formalistic and philosophical, Femi is nimble and playful with language and form; this is language that dances on the page. There's a shutter-like quality to the speaker's eye as they move through the space of the club, weaving in and out of moments that range from existential (03.51am, "Max glances at Shelly") to diabolically comical ("Should you have fear or respect for the person who takes a shit at a house party?"). I love the way Femi describes DJs as weaving sound into "sonic Matryoshka dolls / (inside a song / is another song singing)"; so much of his language lingers in the hot glow of remembering that what makes a good party experience are those ineffable moments on the dance floor, moments where you lock eyes with a stranger and music pours back and forth between people who don't even know each other's names.

I already know a few friends who I will gift this book to once it comes out, friends who don't usually read poetry, yet who will understand when they see a thing they love being written about with such quick and sharp care.

A note on the digital edition: a lot of the photographs appear pixelated or low-res, not sure if this was an intentional choice on Femi's part (it does fit with the book's overall aesthetic) but I found myself squinting to read photos that contained text, like in "Jevon catches the fever" and the "Promotion Event Risk Assessment Form" (p. 34 of ebook). I haven't checked yet but I do hope there is alt text for the photographs, as they feel like an essential part of the book's vocabulary and flow.

I didn't like it. Felt lacking in substance, A lot of noise, but the poetry is weak on satisfaction, not sure what the point of the work is, what the writer is trying to say. Feels like a desire to be cool, wouldn't recomend. The vibes are just off.

I loved the journey this book took me on, it was a quick read with a lot to say from party antics to political stances. The addition of photos created an almost immersive experience while reading.