Dylan did not show up in person, but wrote a letter for his gratitude to the famous writers.

In lieu of attending the ceremony, Dylan wrote a speech, which was read by the American ambassador to Sweden. In it, he expressed his gratitude to the committee, and his admiration for writers who have won the award in the past, including Rudyard Kipling, Albert Camus and Ernest Hemingway.

Down the hallway is a fourth-grader who attended this school but is now sleeping on its concrete floors crammed alongside more than 1, 000 people whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Matthew. At night, bandits have descended on the school, thrown rocks through the windows and ripped away the meager supplies of food.