The Portico: A Repository of Science & Literature (1816–1818) was a short-lived Baltimore literary journal founded and edited by Stephen Simpson and Tobias Watkins. The monthly journal was formed to publish the members of a small Baltimore literary society, called the Delphian Club. The Portico's contributors include John Pierpont, a poet, and John Neal, a poet, novelist, and journalist who went on to write for English periodicals such as Blackwood's Magazine and to serve as editor of several American papers.

The Portico
Black ink on yellowed white paper depicting the magazine's title, volume number, and publication information above and below a Greek temple-style building flanked by trees with a sun shining behind it and a grassy lawn in front of it
Title page of volume 1 (Jan-June 1816)
Co-editorStephen Simpson
Co-editorTobias Watkins
Editor of last issueJohn Neal
CategoriesScience, literature
FrequencyMonthly, quarterly
FounderStephen Simpson and Tobias Watkins
Founded1816
First issueJanuary 1816; 208 years ago (January 1816)
Final issue
Number
April–June 1818; 206 years ago (1818)
Vol 6 No 1
CompanyNeale Wills & Cole
CountryUnited States
Based inBaltimore
LanguageEnglish

The Portico regularly offered reviews of contemporary British and American works, humorous and serious essays on wide-ranging subjects, and original poetry and fiction. The journal's promotion of American literature through generous reviews of contemporary American works and authors made it one of the most important contributors to early American literary nationalism.

References

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  • Fishwick, Marshall W. (1951). "The Portico and Literary Nationalism after the War of 1812". William and Mary Quarterly. 8 (2). Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture: 238–245. doi:10.2307/1916907. JSTOR 1916907.
  • Frank Luther Mott (1930). A History of American Magazines, 1741-1850. New York: D. Appleton. p. 1.