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Many people were surprised when the Swedish Academy announced last October that American singer Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

The academy said it chose Dylan because he "created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition."

After the announcement, the Nobel committee did not hear from Dylan for a long time.

FILE - The organization the gives out the Nobel Prize announced on Wednesday that Bob Dylan would receive his medal and diploma this weekend in Sweden.

Some people openly wondered if he would accept the prize.

But in December, Azita Raji, the United States' Ambassador to Sweden, accepted it for him.

Raji read Dylan's acceptance speech at a dinner in Stockholm. Dylan wrote: "If someone had ever told me that I had the slightest chance of winning the Nobel Prize, I would have to think that I'd have about the same odds as standing on the moon."

American singer Patti Smith attended the award ceremony. She performed Dylan's classic song "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall."

People still did not know, however, when Dylan would accept his Nobel Prize medal and diploma.

Now, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, Sara Danius, says the performer will get them this weekend while he's in Sweden. She left a message on the academy's blog.

Dylan still has one more duty if he wants to collect the last part of his prize. Each Nobel Prize winner receives a payment for over $900,000. But they need to give a "Nobel Lecture."

Danius wrote that the academy's members expect Dylan to send in his lecture on video at some point.

Bob Dylan is performing in northern Europe through May.

And that's What's Trending Today.

Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. His report was based on information from Reuters. George Grow was the editor.

What do you think Bob Dylan will speak about for his Nobel Lecture? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on 51VOA.COM.

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Words in This Story

slight – adj. very small in degree or amount

odds – n. the possibility that something will happen : the chance that one thing will happen instead of a different thing

classic – adj. used to say that something has come to be considered one of the best of its kind

medal – n. a document which shows that a person has finished a course of study or has graduated from a school

diploma – n. a document which shows that a person has finished a course of study or has graduated from a school

blog – n. a website on which someone writes about personal opinions, activities, and experiences

lecture – n. - a talk or speech given to a group of people to teach them about a particular subject