woostify domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/latestwordpress/lonestar.a1professionals.net_public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131Lone Star Indie Review of Poetry Collection<\/p>\n
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In 1982, a teenager unsure of himself and his future suddenly quit high school in Minnesota in the middle of winter and hitchhiked to Texas. It was a risky yet classic journey of self-discovery, one that countless others have taken along America\u2019s interstate and rural highways.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The young teen stopped in Denton, Dallas, Austin, and other locations, including Corpus Christi and the Gulf of Mexico, before \u201cfinding himself\u201d and returning to St. Paul. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Forty years later, that \u201cboy on the run\u201d has a pen name: Danny Klecko. And he just goes by \u201cKlecko\u201d on his book covers. He\u2019s become a prizewinning \u201caction poet,\u201d a writer in a verbal arena where words often are read aloud with expression, energy, and even fierce emotion in front of audiences and judges at poetry slams. Action poetry sometimes also is painted on walls, displayed in murals, sung, or presented in other ways, as well as published on the Internet and in traditional book form. And it often recounts and reflects on real-life events.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Klecko\u2019s newest book, 3 a.m Austin Texas<\/i>, artistically documents his spontaneous young journey to Texas and some of the events and people he encountered after arriving here.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In his poem \u201cTribute,\u201d he writes:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n After crossing the state line<\/i> <\/p>\n He describes his joy at getting out of a truck in Denton, standing on the interstate shoulder, taking off his Minnesota winter clothing one layer at a time, and concluding:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Few things refresh a pioneer<\/i> <\/p>\n Later in the book, however, in a poem titled \u201cA Final Thought,\u201d his thoughts about Texas have taken on more somber tones as he decides to return home:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n When I think of Texas<\/i> <\/p>\n The use of punctuation often can be minimal in action poetry. Klecko, however, breaks his lines smoothly, and it is not difficult to follow the flow of his poems\u2019 images and stories. The use of familiar, accessible words is a common hallmark of action poems. Meanwhile, the themes in Klecko\u2019s new book range from loneliness and longing to fear, joy, death, religion, and admiration for a few briefly encountered people who might not have gotten a second look from others.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the final portion of his book, in a poem titled \u201cUpon My Arrival,\u201d Klecko poignantly describes the quiet reception he received once he finally arrived home:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n My homecoming was met without ceremony<\/i> <\/p>\n Along with poetry, Klecko is known for his baking. He has been called one of the best bakers in Minnesota. And his previous book, Hitman-Baker-Casketmaker: Aftermath of an American\u2019s Clash with ICE<\/i>, won the 2020 Midwest Book Award for General Poetry. According to an interview he gave to the Washington Post<\/i> late in 2019, the book was his \u201cpoke back\u201d at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency after it discovered several of his employees were not eligible to work in the United States. Klecko could not hire and train replacement workers fast enough to meet his contract for hamburger and hotdog buns at the 2018 Super Bowl and had to close his bakery.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Fans of action poetry can find much to relish in Klecko\u2019s 3 a.m. Austin Texas<\/i>. Readers of other poetry genres may be skeptical at first, unless they can let themselves listen closer to the emotions and energy packed into Klecko\u2019s clearly expressed phrases.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Lone Star Indie Review of Poetry Collection <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1469,894,813,1016,830],"class_list":["post-2738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-3amaustin","tag-book-review","tag-lone-star-literary-life","tag-lonestarreviews","tag-lonestarliterarycom"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2738\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
I felt recharged<\/i>
Texas is the most confident place on earth<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Like a lightened load<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
I remember setting camp under bridges<\/i>
Praying the moon would vanish<\/i>
So the world would become dark enough<\/i>
To dream of Minnesota<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Our woes were not discussed<\/i>
We watched TV and ate Chinese takeout<\/i>
Our relationship was not discussed<\/i>
It\u2019s hard to focus on a loved one<\/i>
When you\u2019ve lost touch with yourself<\/i> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n