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Preface
Tepresentvolumecelebratesthesixtiethbirthdayanniversaryofone
ofPoland’smostprolificandsignificantprofessorsofEnglishliterature,
AndrzejWicher.Hisworkandhispersonaarebeinghonouredhere
byauthorswhoarealleitherProfessorWicher’slong-timefriendsand
collaborators,orstudentsanddiscipleswho,withtime,gainedhisap-
preciationandfriendship.Eachandeverypersonwhocontributedto
MarvelsofReadingextendstheirgratitudeforhisscholarlyachievement
andtheirheartfeltwishestoProfessorWicher.Intheirindividualways,
thecontributorsofthevolumecelebratehisacademicachievementby
textswhosethemesshareProfessorWicher’smanifoldinterestsandun-
dertakings.
Itissincethelatenineteen-seventiesthatAndrzejWicherhasmarked
hisacademicpresence,firstinPolishstudiesofEnglishliteratureand
thenworldwide,inthestudiesofEnglishmedievalliteratureinparticu-
lar.HegraduatedfromtheUniversityofSilesiain1978andsincethen
thescopeofhisresearchandwritinghasbeenontheonehandvast,on
theotherithasconsistentlyshownhisdistinctivestylethat,initsatten-
tiontodetailandremarkableerudition,maybelikenedtothestyleofthe
oldschoolofscholarsofEnglish,thelikesofJ.R.R.TolkienandNevill
Coghill.Asayoungacademic,AndrzejWicherresearchedsupernatural
elementsoffairytalesandhismostrecentbookisdevotedtothefathers
offantasyliterature–TolkienandC.S.Lewis.Onemaybetempted,
therefore,tosaythathiscareerhascomefullcircle,butgiventheproduc-
tivityofProfessorWicherandgivenwhatisanotherofhischaracteristic
traits,hisceaselessabilitytofindwonderinmattersliterary,thiscircleis
farfrombeingcompleted.
IfoneweretocategoriseandcatalogueAndrzejWicher’sresearchover
thenearlyfortyyearsofhisuniversitycareer,onecanseeseveraldistinc-
