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Time Capsule: The ’90s
The 1990s in Canada was marked by the continued recession of the ’80s, grunge-rock, the rise of celebrity culture and tabloids, and the Information Age. (And dangerous children’s toys. See: moon shoes.) Scroll down to see what historical and literary happenings we dug up.Â
After catching up on historical books this January, we’re cracking open time capsules from each decade to see what books – and publishers born during that time – will fall out.
The ’90s
What went on
- Nunavut separates from the Northwest Territories officially in 1999 becoming its own Canadian territory and results in the first major change to Canada’s political map since 1949.
- Canada gets a new $2 coin and calls it a “toonie.”Â
- Female musicians in Canada receive a lot of firsts: Alanis Morrisette’s Jagged Little Pill becomes the first Canadian album to sell 2-million copies in Canada; Alannah Myles becomes the first female Canadian artist to get a diamond album in Canada; Susan Aglukark becomes Canada’s first major Inuk recording artist.Â
Books of note
- Words out There published by Roseway Publishing in 1999, was a pivotal collection of poetry by women writers in Atlantic Canada that spoke to the decade’s burgeoning of poetry by women.Â
- ARP Book’s Thinking Forward by activist and economist Michael Albert shared an unconventional approach to thinking about capitalism and economics, and imagined an economy based on progressive values.
- Jan Zwicky’s Songs for Relinquishing the Earth, which was self-published in 1996 and later picked up by Brick Books, went on to win the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry in 1999.
- Céline: Beyond the Image from ECW Press tells the story of Céline Dion—who rose to fame in the ’90s—through 600 previously unpublished photographs and a foreword by the musician herself.
- SKY Lee’s Disappearing Moon Cafe, published in a new edition by NeWest Press this year, tells the story of a Chinese Canadian family through generations from the nineteenth-century to the late twentieth century, and was nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction in 1990.
Publisher birthdays
- Roseway Publishing, 1990
- Anvil Press, 1991
- Signature Editions, 1991
- Insomniac Press, 1992
- J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing, 1992
- Kegedonce Press, 1993
- Bayeux Arts, 1994
- ARP Books, 1996
- Conundrum Press, 1996
- Hagios Press, 1996
- Pedlar Press, 1996Fun fact: The name Pedlar Press is a nod to Walt Whitman who peddled Leaves of Grass door-to-door in the US.Â
- Gaspereau Press, 1997
- Mansfield Press, 1999
Tagged:
Anvil Press, ARP Books, bayeux arts, celine, Conundrum Press, disappearing moon cafe, gaspereau press, Insomniac Press, j. gordon shillingford, Kegedonce Press, Mansfield Press, Pedlar Press, Roseway Publishing, Signature Editions, songs for relinquishing the earth, thinking forward, time capsule, words out there