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Poem of the week: Pilgrim Bell by Kaveh Akbar

Answers soon become questions of faith as this full-stop-studded poem refuses to mean what the hasty reader might think Pilgrim Bell My savior has powers and he needs.To be convinced to use them.Up until now he has been.A no-call no-show. Curious menace.Like a hornets nest buzzing.On a planes wing. Savior. Younger than.I pretend to be.

Roger Ackling obituary | Art

Recycling material and harnessing the power of the sun, the artist Roger Ackling, who has died aged 66 from motor neurone disease, used natural resources to make work that was exhibited all over the world. He would focus the sun's rays with a magnifying glass to burn grids of precise black lines into the surface

The Living Goddess review a fascinating study of child deities

Travel writer Isabella Tree spent over a decade researching Nepals tradition of Kumari young girls believed to be vessels for the female divine spirit The goddess of the title is a girl, sometimes as young as three and with an unblemished body, believed to be an incarnation of or host for Durga or Devi,

The top 10 books about trains

As the son of a railwayman, I grew up entitled to free first-class rail travel. If at all bored as a 13-year-old in York, I'd take the train to London, sitting in my trainers and jeans alongside indignant or at best bemused pin-striped businessmen.

Canadian peace activist confirmed killed in Hamas attack | Canada

Officials confirm lifelong advocate for peace Vivian Silver, 74, killed after initial reports suggested she had been taken hostage Vivian Silver, a Canadian-born activist who spent decades working to foster peace between Israelis and Palestinians, has been confirmed killed after initial reports suggested she had been kidnapped during the 7 October Hamas attacks.