"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
Summer Complaints, Lili Wright
Sweet Sounds of Summer, Meadow Rue Merrill
Tasting Tour, Barrett Limoges
The Black Birch., Monica Wood
The Descent of Autumn., Richard Grant
The Economics of Equality., Edgar Allen Beem
The Gibson Guy., Will Bleakley
The Great Escape., Ron Joseph
The High Life. , Laura Serino.
The Horse Whisperer, Catherine Gentile
The Ice Age., Paul J. Fournier
The Invaders., Thomas Urquhart
The King of Late Night., Will Bleakley
The Late Shift., Rob Sneddon
The Mad Miser., Will Bleakley
The Perfect Maine Home., Virginia M. Wright
The Politics of Logging., Edgar Allen Beem
The Raker., Marcel Moreau
The River Wild., Virginia M. Wright
The Run of the Mill., Michaela Cavallaro
The Settlers., Brian Kevin
The Small, Slimy Slug, Kristen Lindquist
The Snows of Katahdin., Lance Tapley
The Subaru: A Maine Love Story, Edgar Allen Beem
The Train to Success., Mary Pols
The Ultimate (Maine) Home Enthusiast., Edgar Allen Beem
The Well., Michaela Cavallaro
The White Barn Inn, Virginia M. Wright
The Winning Hand., Craig Leisher
The Winter House, Meadow Rue Merrill
Throne of Games, Brian Kevin
Tick Check., Edgar Allen Beem
Trattoria Athena., Elizabeth Peavey
Up and at 'Em, Will Bleakley
Urban Safari, Elizabeth Peavey
What's in a Picture?, Will Bleakley
What's In a Picture?, Will Bleakley
What's in a Picture?, Will Bleakley
What's in a Picture?, Will Bleakley
When Pigs Fly., Kathy Gunst
Where's the Fire?, Robert Sneddon
Where the Wild Things Are., Kim Ridley
Submissions from 2012
Account of the writer May Sarton during the time she lived at Wild Knoll in York, Deborah McDermott
A description of the author's 40-mile journey along the Sebago Lake Canoe Trail,, Donnie Mullen