Crown of Thorns is conceived as a total poem. The intricate patterning of the sequences releases a vortex of sonnets, which are by turns visceral, creaturely, fluid, heart-wrung, wild, true and ruthless. Taken together they create a complex, patterned magic - a swarm of language and sound gathered in with immense skill by Bethany Pope. This is a book of intense and impressive movement and momentum. David Morley