The back cover has a reproduction of what appears to be a ballpoint artwork employing hackneyed uterine, embryonic symbolism [groan]. Lots of poetry, some with stilted, over-used imagery, but much of it was surprisingly fresh and original. I was especially fond of the almost-epigrammatic style and imagery of Jamaz L. Smith in the zine-within-the-zine (is this what Bill Shakespeare would be doing these days?). “Notes on a Boutique: 1983” by Jason Gonzales really caught me off guard; like John Updike’s better stories, the author demonstrates profound significance and universal relevance in the seemingly mundane. In the end, not all of the contributions to Cubby are of the greatest artistic quality, but what it may lack in that regard it more than makes up for in sincerity. –The Lord Kveldulfr (no address)