Alan Reed's lyric novel, The Benjamenta College of Art, is a story about walking into an unknown world and meeting yourself there. At the Benjamenta College of Art, you can sit on the roof of a building and draw until supper because it is your designated work. Your life is an endlessly unfolding present. You will meet a woman you love and she will leave you. Space is reserved for whimsy at the Benjamenta College of Art, and because you feel both lost and safe, the Benjamenta College of Art's real existence may be in question. May we all enjoy a Benjamenta College of Art in our lifetimes.