Down East Magazine, October 2023

Features He’s Been Thinking Philosopher Daniel Dennett has written more than a dozen influential books, but his new one is in an unfamiliar genre: memoir. We visited his place on Eggemoggin Reach for a porch chat about consciousness, AI, farm implements, and Maine as a lifelong refuge. By Rachel Slade A Quartet at the Bridge After a tumultuous few years, one of Maine’s most renowned chamber-music ensembles plays a transition. By Douglas Rooks When Blue Hill Turns Gold As autumn descends, Maine’s most charmingly bucolic peninsula adopts a lavish palette of bronze, amber, and rust. Photographed by Dave Waddell. Departments North by East Almost 90, artist Alison Hildreth is everywhere all at once. For a local weatherman, there’s always a chance of giant pumpkins. The world’s largest revolving globe, Eartha turns 25 (and turns and turns). Plus, in Maine Dispatches, a whole neighborhood gets fleeced. Food and Drink The Maine Heritage Orchard grows a pear, Bolognese meets Benjamin Franklin at Lincolnville’s Astor & Rose, and artful cakes bloom in Cumberland. Good Things from Maine Vintage materials inspire a Topsham outerwear designer with an outdoorsy uncle, dolls don animal masks for a Portland craft exhibit, and small-scale artisans go big in Bangor. Maine Homes A couple leans into retro vibes in their Portland ranch, an Auburn homeowner gets spooky in her Gothic Revival, and a Patten preservationist is a historic church’s salvation. + Where in Maine Maine Moment Dooryard Editor’s note, responses to August’s Where in Maine, the masthead, and more. Columns My Maine, Room With a View.  My Favorite Place Children’s-book author Peter Brown, on Bristol’s La Verna Preserve. + On Our Cover The Jud Hartmann Gallery, in Blue Hill, by Dave Waddell.