Several miles away, on the Ganges, lies the Hindu pilgrimage destination Varanasi, a teeming holy ground for cremation and purification. By contrast, well-manicured Sarnath, one of Buddhism’s ...

Angela Alaimo O’Donnell’s tenth book of poems begins with two epigraphs: “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” (Exod. 3:5) and “The Holy Land is ...