Eugene Lee-Hamilton was a poet and novelist who studied at Oriel (1864-66) who revived the use of Petrarchan Sonnets in his own work, and encouraged it in others. The poetry competition prize was founded by the late Mrs Eliza Ann Lee-Hamilton by bequest in 1943, in memory of Eugene James Lee-Hamilton who died in 1907, in order to encourage the composition of the Petrarchan sonnet in Oxford and Cambridge.
About the Competition
The Provost and Fellows of Oriel College offer an annual prize of £60 for the best Petrarchan Sonnet in English submitted by a current undergraduate of Oxford or Cambridge. The sonnet can be on a topic of the author’s choosing, and enjambment between the eighth and ninth lines is permitted. Sylvia Plath came second for the prize in 1957, so entrants are in good company!
2024 Competition
To enter, please email your sonnet to Mrs Rebecca Bricklebank, Oriel College, at rebecca.bricklebank@oriel.ox.ac.uk by 12 noon on Friday 24 May 2024. Results will be announced by Friday 21 June.
No candidate may submit more than one sonnet to the competition, and previous winners are not eligible to win again.
Each sonnet must be accompanied by an email from the Head or a Fellow of the entrant’s college confirming that the candidate is a current undergraduate student.
The winner will have been deemed to have given permission to have their sonnet published on the Oriel College website as well as in print publications.