Drunk Jerk
A Chrestomathy of Carousal and Critique
by Brian M. Clark
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Drunk Jerk is a hodge-podge collection of essays, interviews, photographs, travelogues, artworks, musings, and ephemera from around the early twenty-first century. Compiling and documenting the author's various creative undertakings during the first dozen or so years of his adulthood, the book bounces around from critiques of culture and social issues; to tales of drunken cavorting in Madrid (Spain), Las Vegas (Nevada), and Denver (Colorado); to interviews with musicians, underground publishers, and stage magicians; to various cranky ruminations about the stupidity of paid governmental prayer, Beethoven's miserable sex life, and why pet ownership is selfish, among other topics. Resembling something akin to a book-length 'zine, Drunk Jerk has something to offer everyone; and nothing to offer anyone in particular.
Length: 340 pages
Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.77 x 11 inches
Published: July 2025
Hardcover: $27.95
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Softcover: $19.95
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‒ AUTHOR REVIEWS ‒
"Part long-form punk 'zine, part philosophical stand-up, Brian M. Clark's Drunk Jerk is a huge collection of his essays, travelogues, artwork, and interviews he conducted throughout his youth. If you enjoy pointing and laughing (or even shaking your fist) at the comedy of errors that much of the world trips itself into, this should be a fun read."
– Adel Souto
Author of Encyclopedia Obscurum
"Irreverent, hilarious, and sometimes snarky—but always entertaining—Brian M. Clark's Drunk Jerk pulls no punches. Pairs well with a fine wine or pint of rotgut."
– Nick Plumber
Author of Whiskeyboat
"A fascinating look into one of the brightest minds of Generation Booze. Drunk Jerk is not a confessional; it's an anti-confession. Clark's droll collection of essays, art, and articles not only refuses to offer apologies and regrets; it refreshingly revels in the age-old act of putting alcohol where it belongs – your bloodstream."
– Frank Kelly Rich
Author of The Modern Drunkard
"Drunk Jerk is a high-octane slalom into Brian M. Clark's lurching swerve into self-aware cynicism, misguided madness, and objective levity. On the twin skis of contempt and curiosity, he ricochets the reader through a gauntlet of twisted ventures, liquor-soaked forays, and jagged catapults over the cliff of reason into the shifting unknown. Clark's command of composition and satire allow the reader to sit shotgun as he veers his way through hapless academia, international misadventure, and wholesale misanthropy. If you are looking for motivation to stop testing life's 'what-ifs' and step into the crosswind, this book is for you."
– Luke Schmaltz
Author of The Belcher
"With his new book, Drunk Jerk, Brian M. Clark has collected his brilliant insights, witty, cynical broadsides, articles, and interviews. It contains his views on everything from Beethoven ("Beethoven's Blue Balls"), Modern Art ("Why Modern Art Is Complete and Total Bullshit"), as well as our beloved pets ("Fuck You and Your Stupid, Stupid Cat"). ...
Drunk Jerk is a great book to read straight through or, additionally, perfect reading material for those quiet commode moments that we all enjoy. Personally, my copy is sitting on my living room coffee table, making it a delight to pick up, read a few articles, put down, and then continually pick up again and again. It's also great for the in-laws or other unwanted house guests; once they start reading it, they can't stop, and you aren't forced to engage in ridiculously stupid fucking banter that we all despise. Get this book for the entertainment value and for shutting up unwanted visitors; it works every time."
– Vadge Moore
Author of My Life With The Dwarves
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‒ PRESS REVIEWS ‒
"Drunk Jerk is an apt title for a book that serves as an appraisal of author Brian M. Clark's former self. It's an over-the-shoulder, sidelong glance at a young adulthood spent in thrall of bacchanalia, revelry, bitter piss-takings, and righteous indignations; a comedy of angst and eloquence that throbs and heaves in lockstep to a thrashing punk-esque tumult.
As the biting commentaries and sneering editorials in Drunk Jerk redouble, they are deftly punctuated by evocative black-and-white photographs. Reading like 'The Wit and Wisdom of a Hangman's Son,' Clark's viewpoint begins with bleak deadpan as a baseline, and evolves exponentially thereafter, recalling bygone capriciousness and conviviality; at once endearing him to the reader while trying, desperately it seems, to alienate them."
– Peter Thomas Tanski
The Book of Very Very Bad Things PodZine
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