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Funding Opportunities at Christopher Tower

Tower Poetry was founded in 2000 when a generous bequest was made by the late Christopher Tower to stimulate an enjoyment and critical appreciation of poetry, particularly among young people in education, and to challenge people to write their own poetry.

Tower Poetry runs a prestigious annual competition for 16-18 year olds in the UK on a set theme, and biennial residential summer schools for 18-23 year olds. The poetry competition is the most generous of its kind for young people in the UK, and is free to enter; Tower Poetry also covers the tuition and accommodation costs for the summer schools.

Christopher Thomas Tower (1915-1998) was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, reading history from 1934-1937.  At Eton he won numerous school prizes for poetry, English literature and allied subjects, and was a founder and first secretary of the Eton College Archaeological Society. These interests took him to the Middle East where he studied Arabic and Persian. After holding a number of official appointments in that area, he settled in Athens to devote more time to his writing in retirement; he wrote nine illustrated books of poetry in his lifetime, mainly of Persian and Arab legends.

Christopher Tower left a legacy of £5m to be used by Christ Church to endow two teaching posts: a Poetry Studentship and a Tutorial Fellowship, with an associated University Lecturership plus a Junior Research Fellowship in Greek mythology. His benefaction also funds the Christopher Tower Poetry Prize.