"The goal of Down East has always been to hold a mirror up to Maine — its storied past and lively present — and to celebrate its flinty, independent character and unhurried way of life. As Maine has changed with the times, however, so has Down East. Today the state has come to embrace its future as well as its past. Accordingly, the magazine now focuses more on contemporary Maine life and what the future might bring and less on historical background and quaint rusticity. Booming circulation and advertising gains demonstrate the wisdom of this editorial shift."
Portland Public Library's collection of Down East is complete, and begins with the first issue, August 1954. The hard copies are available in the Portland Room.
Submissions from 2021
Food and Drink: Feeling Deflated?, Joel Crabtree
Food and Drink: Fermentationland, W. G.
Food and Drink: Free Lunch?, Jennifer Hazard
Food and Drink: From Coast to Coast, Will Grunewald
Food and Drink: Higher Grounds, Joel Crabtree
Food and Drink: In Good Taste, W. G.
Food and Drink: Later, Fish Sticks, Will Grunewald
Food and Drink: Leaf Season, W. G.
Food and Drink: No Dairy, No Problem, Kaitlyn Schwalje
Food and Drink: No Need to Food Fight, Will Grunewald
Food and Drink: No Small Potatoes, Will Grunewald
Food and Drink: Not a Ferment to Spare, W. G.
Food and Drink: One-Way Street, Kaitlyn Schwalje
Food and Drink: Shrub Hub, Will Grunewald
Food and Drink: the Other Cider, W. G.
Food and Drink: the Science of Suds, W. G.
Food and Drink: Utopian Vision, Joel Crabtree
Food & Drink: Fish Sticks, Jillian Bedell
Good Things from Maine: Are You Not Entertained?, Adrienne Perron
Good Things From Maine: Common Threads, Sarah Stebbins
Good Things From Maine: Felt Cute, Adrienne Perron
Good Things From Maine: Fine Feathers, Jennifer Lynn Craig
Good Things from Maine: Hot Seats, S. S.
Good Things From Maine: Learning from the Passé, A. P.
Good Things From Maine: Map Quest, Sarah Stebbins
Good Things From Maine: Office Mates, Sara Anne Donnelly
Good Things From Maine: Off-Peninsula Picks, Jen Derose
Good Things from Maine: On with the Shows, A. P.
Good Things from Maine: Petal Peddler, Jesse Ellison
Good Things from Maine: Piece by Piece, Jesse Ellison
Good Things from Maine: Prints and the Revolution, Adrienne Perron
Good Things from Maine: Prints and the Revolution, Adrienne Perron
Good Things From Maine: Putting a Lid on It, Sara Anne Donnelly ["as told to"]
Good Things From Maine: Suits Herself, Adrienne Perron
Good Things from Maine: the Wood for the Trees, A. P.
Good Things from Maine: This Place Blows (In a Sense), Brian Kevin
Good Things From Maine: To the Hilt, Adrienne Perron
Good Things from Maine: Tough Love, Sara Anne Donnelly
Handmade Heritage, Brian Kevin
Happy Couples, Katy Kelleher
History: Goldie and Brownie, Kate ver Ploeg
House Tour: Clean Slate, Sarah Stebbins
House Tour: Glamp Camp, Sara Anne Donnelly
House Tour: Merry and Bright, Virginia M. Wright
House Tour: Thrift Score, Jesse Ellison
Keep Calm and Carry Out, Will Grunewald
Knoll Love Lost, Bridget M. Burns
Kofta the Races, Virginia M. Wright
Let Them Eat Doughnuts!, Katy Kelleher
Maine Homes: A Stopgap Study, Brian Kevin