Person on business from Porlock facts for kids
The "person on business from Porlock" is a famous story about an unexpected visitor. This visitor interrupted the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1797. Coleridge was writing a poem called "Kubla Khan" when it happened.
He said he had dreamed the whole poem perfectly. But then, a person came to his door "on business from Porlock". This visitor stopped him from finishing the poem. "Kubla Khan" is only 54 lines long and was never completed. Because of this, phrases like "person from Porlock" or "man from Porlock" are now used. They mean an unwanted person who stops someone's creative work.
What Happened?
In 1797, Samuel Taylor Coleridge lived in a village called Nether Stowey. It was near the Quantocks hills. He was not feeling well, so he went to a quiet farmhouse. This farm was between Porlock and Lynton, close to Exmoor in Somerset and Devonshire.
It's not totally clear where the interruption happened. It might have been at Culbone Parsonage or Ash Farm. Coleridge wrote about the event when he first published the poem. He wrote about himself as if he were someone else:
When he woke up, he felt like he remembered the whole poem clearly. He quickly grabbed his pen, ink, and paper. He eagerly wrote down the lines that we still have today. At this moment, he was sadly called away by a person on business from Porlock. This person kept him busy for over an hour. When he returned to his room, he was very surprised and upset. He still had a vague memory of the dream's main idea. But, except for about eight or ten lines and images, everything else was gone. It was like images on a stream's surface after a stone is thrown in. But sadly, the images did not come back!
