3 a.m. Austin Texas

by Klecko

"3 a.m. Austin Texas" is based on a true story of the author, Klecko. In 1982, when he was a young Minnesota man, still in his late teens, he threw away his life only to reclaim it while hitchhiking to Texas in the dead of winter. Long before the days of cellphones, this journey, made in abject solitude, save for a few people he met along the way, taught him how to be resilient and gain confidence.

126 pages, Paperback

Published September 15, 2021

Reviews

[Max Jasper · Rating 5 out of 5]

“3 A.M. AUSTIN TEXAS is a formative tale”

At Klecko’s book launch
For WE TALKED ABOUT NEW YORK
He mentioned to me
While signing my copy
Of 3 A.M. AUSTIN TEXAS
That if there was any book of his
He’d want to be a screenplay
It’d be TEXAS
As an emerging filmmaker myself
I eagerly read TEXAS
Trying to determine
How I’d structure the story
In screenplay format
After my read of TEXAS
Truthfully, I was lost
I didn’t know where I’d begin
But
Good writers don’t give up
Even when they are lost
That’s a statement
I know Klecko would agree with
TEXAS is a story of the vulnerability
Of a young boy
Who hitchhikes from Minnesota
To Texas
In 1982
The journey is filled with all sorts of
Interesting characters
Who shaped Klecko
Into the man he is today
Klecko is one of, if not,
The most interesting person I know
He wasn’t born interesting, nobody is
Unless you’re Jesus
Klecko became interesting
Because of these interesting people
Klecko has been around the world
Meeting all sorts of people
Yet, the people in TEXAS
Helped him realize
The difference between a bottle-breaking boy
And a young man
Klecko’s hitchhiking journey
May be the most important adventure
Of his life
With that being said
I will make a promise
I will do everything in my power
To turn TEXAS
Into a screenplay
And then a feature
It won’t be easy
It will require dozens of re-reads
Along with consultations
From Klecko himself
But, in my heart
3 A.M. AUSTIN TEXAS
Is a story worth telling
Via the big screen
It will take time
Years, maybe
But the world needs to know the story
Of the boy who hitchhiked
From Minnesota
To Texas
And back again

[Lin Salisbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes the only way to recover from bad choices is to leave them behind, and that’s what Klecko did. His newest poetry collection, 3AM AUSTIN TEXAS, is subtitled Boy on the Run, and it’s an account of a painful time in his life – a time when he hitchhiked from Minnesota to Texas in the middle of winter in search of himself. Along the way, he experienced excruciating cold, hunger, and loneliness. The little things helped: ride, a meal, a twenty-dollar bill, a Pepsi, a book, and even a prayer. But mostly he had to muscle through it. Some of these poems will make you cry. Like when hunger becomes the only thing he feels. Sadness, fear, loneliness can mostly be pushed away, but hunger wakes him in the middle of the night and forces him to leave the safety of his sleeping bag under a bridge. Later, he counts out the Wonder Bread – twenty-four slices in case you’re wondering – enough for twelve sandwiches – which he makes by laying the bread out on his sleeping bag and spreading on the peanut butter with a piece of cardboard. Did I mention that this collection might break your heart? It might. But like me, you’ll find that the saving grace is that you know that Klecko lives. And you think about the hard stuff that formed him . . . the chrysalis from which he emerged to become an internationally acclaimed baker and an award-winning poet. Klecko won the Midwest Book Award for his poetry collection, HITMAN-BAKER-CASKETMAKER; AFTERMATH OF AN AMERICAN’S CLASH WITH ICE.
3 AM AUSTIN TEXAS is long-listed for the 2021 Indie Best Award. It’s a worthy contender.
This is Lin Salisbury with Superior Reviews. You can listen to my interview with Klecko on Superior Reads on wtip.org and at www.superiorreads.blog.

[Michelle Hyatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I totally loved this book. Or is it a collection? Its both!! I've never seen anything like this, and I think Klecko is so creative and so honest (brutally) here. Loved how he used rhyme randomly sometimes. Such a unusual and unique voice.

I bought it for a friend solely from the title alone (where she lives) but now I'm a true fan and want to read all his work. What a talent. I want some of his baking too lol

[Lone Star Literary Life]

Reviewed for Lone Star Literary Life.

[Schuyler]

Traces a hitchhiking journey from Minneapolis to Texas in poetic free verse. A different style than I was used to, but I especially enjoyed the later poems set in Target.