In a western world where religious “rebirth” is being used to justify the elimination of human rights, the idea of starting anew can be exhausting and suspect. Compost, as a process, reminds us that cycles are inherent in cultures, economies and bodies as well as ecologies. The artists in this issue engage with ideas of compost in ways that are important and enlivening, in Lead Editor Moe Beitiks’ final issue for the Quarterly.