Twas the Night Before LRA

Twas the night before LRA, and all through Love Field,
The teachers and researchers were departing their flights.
The program was set, with thoughtful reviews
In hopes that all attending scholars would happily choose.

The students back home were all snug with a substitute,
Or eagerly anticipating a day of peaceful solitude.
As academics with PPTs prepared to show off their learning,
We settled our brains for four days of discerning!

In the lobby of the Omni Hotel there arose such a clatter,
“I haven't seen you since last year – let's have a a quick chatter!”
Good friends and the colleagues we meet only here,
Enjoy the warmer climate of Dallas this year.

Dallas, a site of both cultural icons and historical meaning,
Provides a good space for our personal gleaning,
Transformative Literacy: Theory, Research, and Reform,
Our mission – that powerful, critical literacy becomes the norm.

With R. Beach and T. Rodgers we will soon understand
Digital Texts Through Social Practices, will be absolutely grand.
They soon will be joined by K. Chandler-Olcott, and A. F. Ball,
F. Boyd and T. McCarty – in Plenaries for all.

Besides large group sessions, there's papers for all:
Besides broad categories of quant and qual
We'll dive into case study, mixed methods, and more.
The possibilities are endless, it's so hard store!

As people engage in dynamic sessions,
The Twitter feed #LRA13 will ask many questions.
But don't forget to feed both your stomach and mind,
To be social and meet everyone, especially newbies, is kind.

An then in a twinkling, the conference will come to an end.
With new contacts and friendships, and papers to pen.
We will return to our schools and our colleges fresh,
Recognizing that our LRA community is truly blessed.

Dedicated people and volunteers galore
Provide yearly meetings that refresh us to the core.
Thank you all officers, elected and served,
Our gratitude is endless, and all is deserved.

Let's meet again next year, some place in the East,
While our daily work with powerful literacy will never cease.
And never forget Frederick Douglass's plea
“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”