The Nail in the Tree: Essays on Art, Violence, and Childhood

Literary Nonfiction. Poetry. THE NAIL IN THE TREE narrates Carol Ann Davis' experience of raising two sons in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, on the day of and during the aftermath of the shooting there. Part memoir, part art-historical treatise, these meditations lead her to explore crucial subjects, including whether childhood can itself be both violent and generative, the possibility of the integration of trauma into daily life and artistic practice, and the role of the artist.