Caleb Femi

Caleb Femi was born in 1990 in Nigeria. He was brought to England at the age of seven, living on the notorious North Pckham estate. This was where Damilola Taylor was murdered in 2000 by two young white boys only a year older than their victim, aged 11. The estate with its ethnically diverse population, is now demolished, but long had a reputation for crime and deprivation.

Peckham, despite its negative reputation, also has produced young people talented in contemporary music, film and writing. Caleb Femi is an outstanding, multi-skilled example. He taught English literature at secondary school level between 2014 and 2016, but was then selected as the first “Spread the Word” young people’s Poet Laureate for London.

Femi published his first collection of poems and photographs, Poor, in 2020, and the community in which he grew up is strongly featured. It won the Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection. He has also written and directed short films for the BBC and Channel 4.