Final Theory
Bonny Cassidy
Final Theory
‘Final theory’ is a phrase which describes the attempt to find an absolute formula for the working of the universe. This book arrives somewhere less certain. Final Theory is a long poem told in episodes, combining two interwoven story lines. One follows a man and a woman as they travel through landscapes both pristine and ravaged. The other story portrays the sensations of a child, real or imagined, thrown into a distantly familiar world. Researched and composed in countries that were once part of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana – New Zealand, Australia and Antarctica – the poem places its figures within vast scales of time and space. The focus on two generations, the near future and the far-off, raises questions about what place humans – and poetry – have in the unfinished process of chance and change.
Reviews
Final Theory suggests that while a ‘theory of everything’ may be beyond our understanding, it is not beyond our capacity for wonder.
— Chloe Wilson
A fragmentary epic, a love story, creation myth of itself, this is a collection that sees itself from the perspective of deep time. Cassidy’s Final Theory is sharply analytical and also mesmerising: a lastingly interesting book, an impressive achievement.
— Lisa Gorton
Cassidy, though she makes a lot of connections with other contemporary poets in her work, seems very much her own poet with her own voice and her own avenues of approach to some of the vital issues … this book is an attempt to do very difficult, admirable things.