This issue’s design is itself an act of criticism and personal revenge: on the current state of mass market literary spheres, on trendy Instagram design culture, on intellectualism, on seriousness, and on the shapes of expectation. A feature of the covers of Volumes 2.1 & 2.2 is when stacked on their side, the spine ombre carries from the “2.1” to “2.2”. My hope is to destructively look at the invented exclusivity of posh-intellect and propel a poking approach, hopefully lava-lamping into knock-knock joke poetics. The stars, some of which are guest illustrated by the hand of Ro Gingrich, that act as a mascot through this issue, are a comment on CRB’s tactical mission to test what criticism can be by satirically showing what it’s not. Although physically a departure, this issue is as grounded as ever in the spirit of experiment, of adaptability to constraint, of approachability to the new. All to say—there were budget constraints.