Winter Count Poems

Poetry. Native American Studies. It would be painful to interfere/ To set the locust among the corn/ To set the tiger upon the lamb/ To set man against fellow man/ To adjust the conquest, oversee the plan... (Memo). The poems in WINTER COUNT POEMS are spare, sometimes stark observations of the realms of nature and history, recording the world with no requisite tampering or interference. Ballard: My poetic effort came naturally at first and was concerned with Native American topics. Over the years these early topics gave way to other influences and some experimentation. At present I feel that my control is much more definite but also a matter of long and difficult thought. Charles G. Ballard is an associate professor of English at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and the Director of Native American Studies.