Essays in honour of Andrew K. Kennedy on his 70th birthday 9 January 2001Andrew is turning 70 on January 9th 2001, and is retiring from his professorship at the English Department, University of Bergen, where he has been working since 1966. In connection with his retirement, his colleagues and friends would like to honour him with a collection of articles. The editors undertook this project in appreciation of Andrew's love of literature, his contribution to it as author and critic and his readiness to discuss it and help others appreciate it, students as well as colleagues. Andrew has never taken friendship for granted, and our every encounter has an existential tinge. To Andrew human relations are just as important in real life as in literature, never easy and never a habit. One of his main interests, Beckett the playwright, would have something to say about word wise versus world wise.