"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 2019
My Favorite Place: Jared Golden: The Leeds Countryside, Brian Kevin
My favorite place: Jennifer Rooks, Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth, Sarah Stebbins
My Favorite Place: Kara DioGuardi, Hartley Mason Reserve, York, Bridget M. Burns
My Favorite Place: Nell Shipman, Merrill Auditorium, Portland, Brian Kevin
My Favorite Place: Paul Doiron: Scarborough Marsh, Brian Kevin
My Favorite Place: Piera Gelardi, Funtown Splashtown USA, Saco, Jamie Lovley
My Favorite Place: Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head, Southport, Will Grunewald
My Favorite Place: Sam Morse: Sheer Boom Trail, Sugarloaf, Sarah Stebbins
My Favorite Place: Timothy Simmons, Hello Hello Books, Rockland, Will Grunewald
My Favorite Place: Water Cove, Phippsburg, Benjamin Williamson Photographer
My Favorite Place: Yvon Chouinard: Kennebec River, Brian Kevin
My Maine: Stay Calm and Continue to Process as a Regular Return, Charles Oddleifson
My Maine: Uncle Maine, Leath Tonino
My Space: A Touch of the Sacred, Virginia M. Wright
My Space: Full Plate, Sarah Stebbins
My Space: The Writer's Room, Sara Anne Donnelly
Network Connectivity, W. G.
Night Writer, B. K.
Nine on the Line, Jesse Ellison
No Elder an Island, Jesse Ellison
North by East: Art Thieves, Suzanne Rico
North by East: Company Men, Will Grunewald
North by East: Fireside Flip-Throughs, Emmeline Willey
North by East: Saws for a Cause, Will Grunewald
North by East: Say Uncle!, Bridget M. Burns
North by East: Sign Language, Jaed Coffin
North By East; The Maine Woods: Last Stand, Philip Kiefer
North by East: Whole Yacht of Love, Brian Kevin
Nowhere Land, Virginia M. Wright and Michael D. Wilson, photographer
Oceans 7, Will Grunewald and Gabe Souza, photographer
Offshore, Gabe Souza, photographer
Once More Across the Lake, Jennifer Finney Boylan and Michael D. Wilson, photographer
Our Cups Runneth Over, Kate McCarty
Outdoors; Twilight of the Diehards: Baxter State Park retires an age-old and way cold tradition, Brian Kevin
Painted into a Corner, Edgar Allen Beem
Peak Season, Chris Bennett, Andrew Drummond, Chris Shane, and Jamie Walter
Portraits of Courage, Rogier van Bakel
Premium Channels, Minibar, In-Room Poetry, Joel Crabtree
Ramble On, Genevieve Morgan
RIP, Portland Phoenix, 1999-2019, The Editors
Room with a View: A Book is a Sneeze, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: A Gift of Birds, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a view: a winter garden, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: Going to See the Ducks, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: Leaving the Land, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: North Bend Road, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: Paddling Together, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: Spring Rain, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: The Beautiful Bones, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room With a View; The Chicken Shed, Susan Hand Shetterly