Impulse Archaeology

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Archaeology involves digging up artifacts and examining them for clues
about life in the past. The artifacts, in this case, are issues of the
counterculture magazine Impulse, which was published in Toronto from
1971 to 1990.

Essays by nine former staffers introduce the anthology, spelling out
the nature, philosophy, and success of the magazine. It was, they say,
all about the voice of the artist, “people with something new to
say” saying it in a new way. The magazine attempted to be art, never
to review or critique the art of others, and to provide a forum for
“primary expression by cultural producers.” These cultural producers
were the unpaid employees who filled the roles of editors, designers,
writers, typographers, and photographers. Their self-imposed mission was
to reflect the social, political, economic, artistic, and cultural
change happening in Canada during the post-hippy period.

The shards selected for presentation in the anthology include
reproduction of eight Impulse covers and 100 excerpts from the magazine.
These include photos, sketches, short stories, interviews, and essays.
Design and typography are prominent, as Impulse presented itself as a
visual art form.

Over the two decades of its existence, the magazine attracted
government grants, achieved limited international distribution, and
earned a reputation for publishing artistic experimentation backed by
energy and enthusiasm. Soundly anchored in the sexual revolution and
street culture of the day, the magazine nonetheless scored interviews
with heavyweights such as Northrop Frye, William Burroughs, Buckminster
Fuller, Andy Warhol, and John Kenneth Galbraith.

The anthology is a nostalgia piece for those who were part of the 1970s
and ’80s street culture scene, and a piece of Canadian social history
for the rest of us.