Duke Cuts Funding for Coles' Magazine

DoubleTake Magazine, a popular magazine of poetry, short stories and non-fiction features about "ordinary people," lost its funding two weeks ago and is in danger of closing down.

The Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) at Duke University refused to continue funding the magazine because the publication acquires a debt of, on average, $2 million each year.

"They feel that from a financial standpoint, they can't justify continued funding of the magazine," said David Rowell, executive editor of the magazine.

The magazine, founded by Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Humanities Robert M. Coles '50, is currently looking for new sources of funding.

"Someone is definitely going to have to step forward," Rowell said. "Someone who is moved to save it."

According to Rowell, the quarterly magazine is considered "hefty" by industry standards because it has 127 high-quality glossy pages, increasing its production costs.

DoubleTake was able to persuade CDS to allow it to print its winter issue since the magazine was able to cut some of the production costs. The magazine accomplished this mainly by not selling the issue publicly at newsstands.

"The winter issue will go to all the subscribers," Rowell said. "We demonstrated that we could significantly cut the production costs without making significant sacrifices to the magazine."

Rowell said the magazine reaches out to the common citizen.

"The magazine is aimed at working people," Rowell said. "We're interested in telling stories of ordinary people."

Rowell said the magazine has published stories and poems by many of Coles' current students.

Susan C. Faludi '81, a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award and a former Crimson managing editor, is also listed among frequent contributing writers to the magazine.

Although Rowell said "the life of the magazine is up in the air," he repeatedly commented that the magazine is still fighting to stay alive.

"Basically we plan to keep going," he said. "Hopefully it has many years of life still."