The classical oral rhymes and hand clapping games of the African American traditional nursery rhymes are set down as poetry in this brilliantly written poetic narrative. Ensuring its survival, Bobby Ray transmutes the oral traditions into enduring poetry and establishes its place in Black Folk Art. Narrated from the perspective of a modern day urban youths, "Accommodating Eden" yearns to simplify his heart and mind through popular culture and childhood poetry. As the story regresses from adolescences to childhood, from the clean garage floor of a mechanic shop to the dirty vacant lot used as...