The Wickedest
Caleb Femi, a poet and filmmaker, builds a book around a single night at a monthly South London house party known as The Wickedest. The story unfolds in real time, hour by hour, through the voices of partygoers, hosts, and hangers-on. Femi mixes classical sonnets with experimental forms, text messages, photographs, and bits of overheard conversation to capture the energy of the dance floor and the role that house parties play in working-class community life. The result is part poetry collection, part novel, a portrait of a place and a people across one unforgettable night. It was a Library Science pick by Kaia Gerber.
What you might want to know about The Wickedest
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Told minute by minute across one night, a legendary South London house party comes alive through poems, texts, photos, and overheard talk.
It is a blend of both. Caleb Femi tells the story of one night at a house party using poems, text messages, photographs, and overheard conversation.
Yes. Kaia Gerber selected The Wickedest for her book club Library Science in early 2025.
The Wickedest was written by Caleb Femi, published in 2025 by MCD.
The Wickedest is 224 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Wickedest takes most readers 3 to 5 hours to finish.
The Wickedest is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
