Toward the Hanging Tree is a devastating and inspiring collection of poems depicting the depths to which the human spirit can descend but also exalting the courage and humanity of that spirit in the reactions of many to the Salem witch hunt of 1692. As Clare Rossini notes, the poems “seem to live inside the voices of these characters, the urgency of their fears and desires, their deep failings and triumphs.” Richard Trask, himself an expert on the events described in the book, says, “This is a never-before attempted, delightful collection of poems relating to the entire story of the Massachusetts witchcraft outbreak of 1692. Through Ginny Lowe Connors’ poetic artistry merged with solid research of historic facts, we glimpse the human heart’s response to terrifying events.”