"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 2013
Dolphin Marina and Restaurant., Virginia M. Wright
Down East Horror Show., Mary Pols
Fantasyland., Hilary Nangle
Fee Simple Absolute, Ted Gup
Fighting over Fireworks., Edgar Allen Beem
Gardening for Good Health., Meadow Rue Merrill
Gather., Michaela Cavallaro
Ghosts in the Garden., Ken Textor
Gliders, Virginia M. Wright
Group Effort., Edgar Allen Beem
Head of State., Cynthia Anderson
Home Kitchen Café., Nancy Heiser
How They Roll., Brian Kevin
Hunt, Gather, and Cook., Sandra L. Oliver
If the Midcoast Had a Times Square, This Would Be It., Will Bleakley
In Conversation with Richard Ford., Wayne Sheridan
Island Delight., Virginia M. Wright
Kittery's Catwalk., Virginia M. Wright
Lakeside Living., Laura Serino
Last Rose Standing, Richard Grant
Light Years Ahead, Joshua Bodwell
Local Heroes., Virginia M. Wright
Long, Strange, Lonely Trail., Robert Moor
Maine at Work., Down East editors
Mainer’s Ale-manac, Brian Kevin
Maine's Songbird Highway., Kim Ridley
Making Memories., Caroline Praderio
Mantled in Fire and Smoke, Jerry Desmond
Marijuana in Maine., Jeff Clark
Martha, Martha, Martha!, Brooke Williams
Mending Bridges, Deborah McDermott
Migration to Moosehead., Will Bleakley
Moon Dance., Jim Nickelson
More Than a Store., Jane Crosen
My Washington County Honeymoon., Elizabeth Peavey
Never Forget., Amy Sutherland
Noble Salvage., Brian Kevin
Northern Light., Down East staff
North Woods Lawmen., Paul Doiron
Off To See the Wizard., Will Bleakley
Of Mice and Musicians., Virginia M. Wright
On the Rocks., Virginia M. Wright
Pipe Dreams., Brian Kevin
Portland's Hotel Room Boom., Edgar Allen Beem
Prefab Style., Meadow Rue Merrill
Prior to Puffins., Will Bleakley
Retire Maine, Down East editors