"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
Room with a View: Tilting at Windmills, Philip Conkling
Room With a View: Time Alone, Susan Hand Shetterly
Salted Away, Rob Wolfe and Greta Rybus, photographer
Same As It Ever Was?, Will Grunewald
Season's Eatings, Will Grunewald
See Spotz Run, Catie Joyce-Bulay
Shaka Shack, Kathryn Miles
Shared Soil, Katy Kelleher
Shop Till You Drop, Michaela Cavallaro
Small Towns, Smaller Galleries, A. P.
So Cold it Shines, Will Grunewald
Street View, Séan Alonzo Harris (photos) and Genevieve Morgan (quotes)
Strongholds, Benjamin Williamson [photos]
Sulking in a Winter Wonderland, Ron Currie
Talk of Maine: a Burning Question, Philip Kiefer
The Development Projects: Reshaping Portland, Edgar Allen Beem, Sara Anne Donnelly, and Alexandra Hall
The Most Hated House Style in Maine?, Hannah Holmes
Tomorrowland, Will Grunewald
Totally Jellies, Brian Kevin
Turbid Water, Kathryn Miles
Unity and Division, Bill Donahue
We are Mainers, Dammit, and We Can Still Hang Out Outside, Brian Kevin
Welcome to the Wild Wild World of Maine Real Estate, Jesse Ellison, Jennifer Van Allen, and Brian Kevin
What's Next for America's Crown Jewel?, Virginia M. Wright
Where to Eat Now, Down East staff writers and Mark Fleming [photos]
Who Wields Power in Portland, Brian Kevin
Submissions from 2020
100 Books Every Lover of Maine Should Read, Down East staff writers
200 Reasons to Love Maine, Down East staff writers
2020 in the Bag, S. S.
All of the Bald Mountains, Virginia M. Wright
All the Edible Parts of a Lobster, Virginia M. Wright
An Affair of Changing Light, Kimberly Ridley
A Very General Store, Joyce Kryzak
A Well-Dug Bean Hole, W. G.
Back, Unexpectedly, to the Land, Buzz Poole
Best of Maine, Down East staff writers
Best Places to Camp, Down East staff writers
Best Places to Live, Down East staff writers
Birds of a Feather, W. G.
Braaap-ers' Delight, Mitch Breton
Bring Back the Christmas Goose!, Brian Kevin
Century Notes, Susan Sharon, Patty Wight, and Robbie Feinberg
C is for Cookie (And Cookie is for Sea), Kate McCarty
Comeback Story: The Rising, Kate McCarty
Come on Veggies, Light my Fire, W. G.
Conspicuous Manifestations of Maine Pride, B. K.
Covered Bridges, Joel Crabtree
Creetons and Poutine and Ployes, Oh, Mon Dieux!, Joel Crabtree
Crossover Cooking, Kate McCarty