"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 2015
Guide. Art: Winter in July?, Edgar Allen Beem
Guide. Art: Woodworking Behind Bars, Edgar Allen Beem and Marti Stone, photographer
Guide. Book: Add Maine and Stir, Grace-Yvette Gemmell
Guide. Book: Back-to-the-Landers, Peter Pfeiffer
Guide. Book: Farmer Boys, Jim Bauer
Guide. Book: Footloose, Virginia M. Wright
Guide. Book: Inside the Hive, Virginia M. Wright
Guide. Book: Island Girl, Virginia M. Wright
Guide. Book: Maine Classics, Virginia M. Wright
Guide. Book: Still Bimulous, B.K. [Brian King]
Guide. Book: The Negotiator, George Mitchell
Guide. Book: Through Children’s Eyes, Virginia M. Wright
Guide. Dining, Elizabeth Peavey and Meredith Purdue, photographer
Guide. Dining: Bao Bao Dumpling House, Elizabeth Peavey and Kristin Teig, photographer
Guide. Dining: Blaze, Melanie Brooks and Meredith Perdue, photographer
Guide. Dining: Boynton-McKay, Virginia M. Wright and Douglas Merriam, photographer
Guide. Dining : Coplin Dinner House, Nancy Heiser and Mark Fleming, photographer
Guide. Dining: Custom Deluxe, Joe Ricchio and Meredith Purdue, photographer
Guide. Dining: Mill 67, Michaela Cavallaro and Meredith Purdue, photographer
Guide. Dining: Portland Pâtisserie, Grace-Yvette Gemmell and Meredith Perdue, photographer
Guide. Dining: Ports of Italy, Meadow Rue Merrill and Erin Little, photographer
Guide. Dining: The Menu, [Editorial staff writers]
Guide. Dining: Thistle Pig, Elizabeth Peavey and Adam Detour, photographer
Guide. Dining: Van Lloyd’s Bistro, Brian Kevin and Kari Herer, photographer
Guide. Dining: Vinland, Michaela Cavallaro
Guide : Drawing in the news, Virginia M. Wright
Guide. Excursion: Camden in Bloom, Meadow Rue Merrill
Guide. Excursion: Workingman’s Art, Kym Gilhooly
Guide. Fiction: Point Last Seen, Paul Doiron
Guide. Fiction: The Little Hutchinsons, Ann Beattie
Guide. Music : Easier listening/Liztening, Brian Kevin
Guide. Music: High Five, Brian Kevin
Guide. Music: Play, Paws, Record, Brian Kevin
Guide. Music: Rustic Never Sleeps, Jeff Beam
Guide. Music: Smooth Jazz, Brian Kevin
Guide. Music: Unfiltered lights, B.K. [Brian Kevin]
Guide. Radio: Return of the Old-Timers, Sara Anne Donnelly
Guide. Sport: Swing easy, Nancy Heiser
Guide. Theater: In the Flesh, Monica Wood
Guide. Theater: Not Toying Around, Grace-Yvette Gemmell
Guide. Theater: Snow Comparison, Brian Kevin
Guide. Treat: Puff Piece, Grace-Yvette Gemmell
Hard Opening, Brian Kevin and Dana Smith, photographer
Hard Tellin’ Not Knowin’, Michael Erard; Hanji Chang, illustrator; and Andy O'Brien, illustrator
His Own Lilliput, Catherine Gentile
Home Grown : An April Shower of Seeds, Richard Grant and Marty Braun, illustrator
It’s Island Time: Islands A-Z, [Editorial staff writers]
Kelp: It’s What’s for Dinner, Rob Sneddon and Douglas Merriam, photographer
Let it burn, Michael Burke
Lost in Translation, Suzanne Rico and Séan Alonzo Harris, photographer