“Homeland Elegies,” by Ayad Akhtar (Little, Brown and Company)

An elegy is a mournful poem expressing regret for something lost. Ayad Akhtar’s brilliant new novel, “Homeland Elegies,” mourns...

NEW YORK (AP) — Lawrence Ferlinghetti, one of the last links to the early days of the Beat poetry movement, never doubted the artistry of Bob Dylan or his worthiness of the Nobel prize.

"Bravo for Dylan, Nobel Laureate!" the poet, publisher and bookstore owner told The Associated Press in an email Friday, a day after Nobel judges stunned, delighted and also dismayed the world by making the singer-songwriter its latest winner of the literature prize.